Donbas
Saturday 23 September 2017
-
Aleksey Pushkov
Chairman of the Commission on Information Policy in Russia’s Federation Council
“There is no basis for the deployment of peacekeepers on the border between the DNR/LNR and Russia. It is a zone of peace and tranquility. So let them deal with the zone of tension.”
Read more...The Russian authorities’ insistence that the mandate of UN peacekeepers in Ukraine should be limited to the area along the “borders” between Ukraine and the conflict zone in the eastern part of the country is based on their claim that the region is a “zone of peace and tranquility.” That claim is neither true nor logical. Eastern Ukraine remains a war zone and the only internationally recognized borders are those between Ukraine and Russia. -
Sergey Kislyak
Former Russian Ambassador to the U.S.
“I have worked for years in the American (relations) field, and I can responsibly say that we did everything, simply everything, to maintain normal cooperation.”
Read more...Russia’s own actions endangering global security caused the deterioration of relations with the United States as well as with other countries. The conditions for lifting sanctions and returning to “normal” cooperation have been clearly presented to Russia but Moscow ignores its obligation to help maintain global security. -
RT
Russian government-funded international broadcaster
“U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker stated that Russian authorities intend to ‘freeze’ the situation in Donbass.”
Read more...In fact, Volker said that Russia appears ready to “live with” the status quo in the region and that there are political and economic costs for its actions in Ukraine. -
Andrey Klimov
Deputy Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee, Federation Council
“These sanctions are illegal in themselves, because the only thing recognized by international law is the sanctions of the UN Security Council.”
Read more...Despite Russia’s claims that U.S.-imposed sanctions are illegal under international law, the U.S. strictly follows its own legal procedures and international regulations under the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) -
Ramzan Kadyrov
Head of Chechnya
“America is carrying out policies against Russia, against the nation’s leadership. They know I am one of those ready to give my life for Russia, and that I have a good army capable of attacking and defending. We will see who comes out on top.”
Read more...Chechnya’s Kremlin-appointed head threatened the U.S. with his “army.” His claims are baseless: by military standards, Chechnya has no army. -
Vladimir Putin
Russian President
“The Ukrainian government is insisting that the section of the border in the area of the unrecognized republics must be closed. And indeed, the Minsk protocols require that the border with Russia be closed by Ukrainian border guards, but only after the key political decisions are adopted.”
Read more...Putin is right about the timetable of the Minsk peace agreements, but he ignores his own responsibility for the ongoing war in Ukraine. -
Kiselyov’s legal defense team
“Dmitry Kiselyov has never expressed support for the directing of Russian forces to Ukraine... The EU Council did not provide information necessary to ensure [his] legal right to defense, since the accusations leveled were formulated in an unduly vague way.”
Read more...Lawyers for pro-Kremlin media figure Dmitry Kiselyov claim their client never expressed support for sending Russian troops into Ukraine, and that the European Council has denied him the right to legal defense. In fact, Kiselyov is notorious for provocative comments about Ukraine and the court followed regular procedures in adjudicating his case. -
Maria Zakharova
Spokesperson, Russian Foreign Ministry
“The International Court of Justice has taken a principled stand and did not support the numerous and well-known statements of the Ukrainian side about the alleged so-called "aggression" [and] "occupation" of Crimea, [viewing them] as being unrelated to the essence of the proceedings. In the process, the court did not support any of the temporary measures requested by Ukraine, nor the main point of this part of the Ukrainian suit -- that Russia is “pursuing a policy of erasing the cultural identity of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar communities."
Read more...The Russian Foreign Ministry says the International Court of Justice found Ukraine’s suit against Russia “implausible.” Court documents contradict this claim, and experts say the ministry’s characterization of the ruling demonstrates that Russia is “still litigating the same argument that it just lost.” -
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia
“The sanctions imposed on Russia were a response to our country conducting an independent foreign policy, as well as a kind of punishment for the people of Crimea fulfilling their legitimate right to self-determination and right to freedom of expression enshrined in the foundational international documents on human rights.”
Read more...Russia’s Foreign Ministry says the sanctions imposed by more than 30 countries after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine were a response to Moscow’s “independent foreign policy” and "punishment" for Crimeans voting to join Russia in a 2014 referendum. Experts strongly disagree. -
Russian Foreign Ministry
“The circumstances of the incident indicate a high probability of a provocation geared at breaking down the settlement process in Donbas."
Read more...The OSCE monitors were traveling in Russia-backed separatist-held territory near the front line, where large amounts of land have been mined. Ukrainian forces were not likely to have accessed this area. Past attacks on the OSCE mission were mainly by separatists, and they bear responsibility for this area they control. -
Natalya Poklonskaya
Member of Parliament, Russia
"I am confident that today, 100 percent of Crimeans would vote to return to Russia.”
Read more...On the third anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, Natalya Poklonskaya, the former Crimean prosecutor general who helped Moscow’s efforts to take over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula, claimed “100 percent of Crimeans” would vote to be part of Russia if the 2014 referendum were held today. Polling data and experts suggest otherwise. -
Vladimir Putin
President of Russian Federation
“With regard to the current flare-up…it was provoked by the Ukrainian side.”
Read more...The Russian president claims Ukraine “provoked” recent violence near pro-Russian separatist territories in Donbass. But experts say the Russian military response far outweighed the alleged Ukrainian incursion that sparked the surge in fighting in the Russian-created conflict.