US officials hyping Russian threat in Ukraine: Journalist

US officials are using the American media to hype the perceived threat Russia poses toward Ukraine in order to contain the country, despite Moscow’s attempt to make peace in the region, an author and analyst in Chicago says.

“US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, like other US officials in the American media, proliferate the big lie about Russia being a major threat to world peace and hyping the expression ‘Russian aggression’ when it comes to Ukraine,” said Stephen Lendman.

“The whole world knows that Russia is a peacemaker, not a war maker; it’s gone all out since conflict began in Ukraine in April last year (2014) to resolve things diplomatically,” Lendman told Press TV on Saturday.

The United States is considering new strategies to prevent Russia from meddling in Europe, in what some officials describe as an “updated version of Cold War-era containment,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

The approach involves boosting the militaries of allies and potential partners, expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and increased training exercises.

The latest policy deliberations come as US President Barack Obama meets with leaders of European allies this weekend in Germany, where he is expected to push for a tougher stance against Moscow.

The longer-term measures stem from a recognition that US and European sanctions alone have failed to make Russian President Vladimir Putin reverse course.

The idea that Russia poses a threat is one of the “big lies” that keeps circulating, raising the possibility of a serious confrontation between the West and Russia, Lendman said.

He described a major US-led military war game currently being conducted by 17 countries “literally almost on Russia’s borders” as “extremely provocative.”

In addition to other military hardware, the US has deployed three B-52 nuclear bombers to participate in BALTOPS exercises in the Baltic region, which began on Friday and will run through June 20, the US Strategic Command said in a statement.

Ties between Washington and Moscow have reached an all-time low over the crisis in Ukraine, which began after pro-Western forces ousted the country’s president, Viktor Yanukovych, in February 2014.

The US accuses Russia of destabilizing Ukraine by supporting pro-Russian forces in the eastern regions.

Russia has denounced the accusations as “baseless” and says Washington is responsible for the crisis by sending in arms in support of the Ukrainian army.

AHT/HRJ

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