United States
Sunday 20 May 2018
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Aleksandar Vučić
President of Serbia
"As you know, nothing in international relations lasts shorter than gratitude, and I would like to thank you once again for what you did in 2015, when you literally saved the Serbian people -- who were and are the people who suffered the most over the last century -- from the stigma of genocide, when you vetoed the British resolution in the U.N.”
Read more...The Serbs not only did not suffer “the most” from 20th Century conflict but it was the Serbian troops who massacred thousands during Bosnian war. Ten UN Security Council members voted for resolution recognizing these atrocities as an act of genocide. Russia vetoed the resolution. Serbs made up one-fourth of the deaths in the 1990’s Balkans conflicts. More than two-thirds of the killed were Bosnian Muslims. -
Alexis Rodzianko
President and CEO of the American Chamber of Congress in Russia
“If Rusal doesn’t deliver this metal (aluminum) to America … then producing enough cars (F150s) to meet market demands will be impossible, and this is a big loss.”
Read more...The new Ford F150 pickup truck is listed a one of the “most American” new vehicles. Ford says nearly all the aluminum in the new Ford F150 is produced in the United States, and much of it is actually recycled from scrap metal. -
Alexander Shulgin
Russia’s representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
“In the United States, nerve agents of “Novichok” type have not only been produced, but have even been patented as chemical weapons. Moreover, a search on the electronic source google.patents.com using the keyword “Novichok” finds more than 140 patents granted in the United States related to the use of, and protection from, the impact of the ‘Novichok’ chemical warfare agent.”
Read more...Shulgin’s statement is false on several levels: the “google.patents.com” he referred to is not the correct address of the database; there are 59, not “more than 140” patents related to Novichok and all of them are for anti-poisoning measures; a search of the “patents.google.com database” finds that no patents have been issued in the U.S. for the production and use of Novichok. -
Current Policy (@Current_policy)
Social media account
“American newspapers presented the use of napalm in Vietnam as forest fires. Since then nothing has changed.”
Read more...There is no indication @Current_Policy is a creation of the Russian government, but the Twitter account Tweets a stream of pro-Kremlin messages – including a false interpretation of an ad promoting press freedom. -
Sputnik News
Russian state news agency
A Dutch lawyer working at the Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCDCOE) in Estonia has noted that the April 14 airstrikes against Syria by the US, UK and France are in violation of international law.
Read more...While Western leaders say air strikes were "justified, legitimate and proportionate," and necessary to alleviate overwhelming human suffering, several experts contend this is not considered a justification under international law for military action against another country. -
RIA Novosti
Russian state news agency
“The House of Representatives has adopted a law banning the U.S. from aiding Syria”
Read more...H.R. 4681, a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives also known as the No Assistance for Assad Act, limits assistance for areas of Syria controlled by the government of Bashar al-Assad Syria or associated forces. The legislation does not apply to “assistance for projects to be administered by local organizations that reflect the aims, needs, and priorities of local communities in Syria; and assistance for projects to meet humanitarian needs, including demining and needs for food, medicine, medical supplies and equipment, education, and clothing.” -
Irina Rodnina
Russian lawmaker and former Olympic figure skating champion
“I’m just saying they [Americans] wouldn’t report to us. Look at the amount of abuse those children were subjected to. I am not saying that it happened everywhere. But there were a lot of cases like that. We weren’t notified about them because the child would lose their citizenship.”
Read more...Russian lawmaker Irina Rodnina’s statement justifying the Russian ban on U.S. adoptions overstates instances of abuse of adoptees in the U.S., ignores Russia’s own lack of accountability in inter-country adoptions and misstates laws in Russia and the U.S. governing citizenship. -
Russian State Duma
A counter sanctions law: “Cessation or suspension of international collaboration between the United States and (or) other foreign nations in the rocket-propelled industry.”
Read more...While the Russian Duma threatens to cut off rocket engine sales to the U.S., it is clear the move would harm the Russian company producing the engine, and the Russian government signals it expects sales to continue into the next decade. -
Sergey Lavrov
Foreign Minister, Russia
“Because during the Cold War there were channels of communication. And there was no obsession with Russophobia, which resembles genocide through sanctions."
Read more...The United Nations defines genocide as the deliberate destruction of a specific group, and lists five types of actions toward a specific group that qualify as genocidal. None of these apply to the financial and travel restrictions the United States imposed on Russian government officials and tycoons. -
Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoy
Chief of staff of Russian defense ministry
“Syria's air defense system, based on the Soviet-manufactured air defense systems, has successfully repulsed the strikes from aviation and naval means of destruction. 71 cruise missiles have been intercepted, using Syrian air defense systems S-125, S-200, Buk, Kvadrat and Osa.”
Read more...Gen.Sergei Rudskoy's full statement contains multiple claims aimed at minimizing the impact of air strikes on Syrian chemical weapon facilities. The fact check reveals they are either inaccurate of false. -
Elvira Nabiullina
Head of Russian Central Bank
“We all know that the Russian economy is an open economy, we have a large share of exports, many large export-oriented companies. Therefore, changes in external conditions cannot but affect the Russian economy.”
Read more...While Russia has low trade barriers and its trade forms a large percentage of its economy, it nevertheless confronts a series of non-trade barriers making its economy not as open as the head of Russia’s central bank makes it out to be. -
Dmitry Peskov
Vladimir Putin's press secretary
"The Kremlin backs an objective investigation into this situation to provide trustworthy data, and so that we don’t rely on rumors and fake media reports. We believe that this information on such awful consequences of using chemical weapons in [Syria’s] Douma is not based on real data.”
Read more...Vladimir Putin's press secretary claim that the Kremlin backs an "objective investigation" into the use of chemical weapons in Syria is false. The Russian ambassador to the United Nations has systematically blocked resolutions calling for joint international investigations of chemical weapons use in Syria.