Ukraine coup had US, EU’s blessing: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Edward Lozansky, the president of World Russia Forum, in Moscow, to ask for his opinion on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent remarks holding the West responsible for the Ukrainian crisis.

What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Give us your thoughts on the recent comments made by Russian President Vladimir Putin pointing to the West for being responsible for the crisis that has unfolded in Ukraine.

Lozansky: Well, to a great regret, I think we should probably agree with Mr. Putin; not only he is right, but in this case, it was obvious that there was a coup, and the coup was blessed both by Europe and United States.

Usually when you have a coup, it just leads to civil war and this is what we are facing right now. At some point, Europe realized that this was a mistake in policy and they talked about the so-called Minsk agreement, which was reached between France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine. And this was ideal? No, nothing is ideal in a war; but at least with some compromises put on both sides with certain pressure, peace could be achieved.

Unfortunately, the West is not putting any pressure on Ukraine, and it looks like it is even more encouraging [Kiev] by sending more troops and more arms. So I again regret to say that in this case I think that Putin is right.

Press TV: Putin also dismissed West’s accusations stating that Moscow was being aggressive with regards to the situation. On the other hand, he also said that whatever actions and measures that Moscow is implementing is sufficient to ensure its security. Tell us more about that as well.

Lozansky: Yes, of course. Russia has now two general responsibilities. First is its own security, and having a war at its border doesn’t really help its security. So it is not in Russian interest to continue this situation. That is why Russia is pushing both sides for peace accords, what we call Minsk accord.

Now this Ukrainian government, which came to power after the coup… it looks like they are not interested to talk because they are illegitimate. So, if there is a kind of a peace, then they will have to deal with economy, they will have to do reforms, and more or less they have to admit the autonomy and give more rights to those rebel provinces; they do not want to do it. What they want is more money and arms from the West to continue this conflict. So what we are facing is something that is not truly in the interest of the Ukrainian people. It is in the interest of the new Ukrainian government and their Western supporters. It is a stupid policy, and it leads to more suffering, more victims and has to be stopped as soon as possible; and perhaps Europe could put some pressure in this upcoming G7 meeting, although I doubt that any sanctions against Russia will be lifted and this will continue and if you follow the logic of US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, this could lead to a military confrontation between Russia and the United States and – God forbid – World War III.

MTM/HJL

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