Analysis 11:03 30/03/2015

Kiev strangles Minsk ceasefire deal

By Jim W. Dean, Press TV

“War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrong. It multiplies instead of indemnifying losses.” ~Thomas Jefferson

Some might describe what is happening to the Minsk agreement as a crib death, but that is an accident, and strangulation is not. It is exactly what Kiev has been doing as every indication shows it has no intention of living up to seeking the political settlement it agreed to do.

That is no surprise to anyone who has been following this sad saga. When it comes to pathological lying, the Poroshenko government currently holds the Olympic gold medal. But, it also has had a lot of encouragement, in that the EU and the US have never shown any disappointment with Kiev’s behavior, thus waiving the green flag for the Ukrainian tragedy to continue.

We saw problems begin when Poroshenko returned home after signing the agreement to what, in Kiev, seemed like a palace coup. Rumors abounded in Ukraine that Yatsenyuk and Kolomoisky were scheming to get rid of the Candy King by any means.

The anti-Russian radicals did not want peace as their future greed lies in the looting of the Russian area republics, with Kharkov unofficially on the list. With the country financially broke, the only dependable source of theft is the IMF funds coming in, along with neo-Viking style army raids on the East.

While at Minsk, Poroshenko could have negotiated the safe removal of his surrounded army at Debaltseve, but incredibly, he took the stance that they were not surrounded, even though the militias had the supply roads north blocked for several days, thus putting Kiev’s troops behind the front lines of the enemy.

Under the agreement, all illegally-armed groups were to be disarmed or neutralized. Some intelligent Kiev troops did surrender as the Minsk deal had agreed to an exchange of prisoners within 30 days. But troops abandoned in Debaltseve were left on their own to break out with ensuing huge casualties, showing that Kiev would use the lives of its soldiers to protect its lies with no mercy.

Porky began walking back on the agreement to shore up domestic political support, and trying to make up for the Donetsk airport and Debaltseve disasters by playing Mr. Tough Guy. He delayed pulling back his heavy weapons from the front. Shelling continued for days, even as the militias held to their side of the agreement.

Then when Kiev began its pullback, the OSCE monitors reported that they were not allowed to see where these weapons were being staged so they could make sure they were not just being moved to another part of the line.

There was no outcry from the EU, nor the French and German guarantors for Kiev. As the shelling violations quieted down they announced the ceasefire was holding, and Russia seemed to be onboard the charade for some reason. Kiev had tested them, and now would take further steps to derail the Minsk agreement.

Poroshenko refused to begin negotiations, preferring instead to issue proclamations from Kiev that effectively interpreted the agreement however he saw fit. He played a cheap game, first announcing that legal changes would be made to give Donbas more autonomy as required, but later began adding stipulations.

This shockingly began two days after passing the Donbas autonomy legislation, when a list of amendments was submitted, which undid some of the things just passed. Again, there was not a word of disappointment or pressure from France, Germany or the US for subverting the agreement so blatantly.

To distract public attention from this open breach of Minsk, we began to see more silly charges from NATO that Russia would be held responsible for any breaches to Minsk, while we were already watching in real time Kiev breaching Minsk with full immunity from its Western backers.

When the EU met to discuss the extension on Russian sanctions, a big deal was made how there would be no sanctions relief until the Minsk agreement provisions were “fully implemented.” That verbiage showed me the Western trap. Russia would be held responsible for Kiev’s duplicity.

NATO General Breedlove cornered more media distraction by demanding that Russia pull back its 12,000 troops. But this was problematic as the head of the OSCE stated that he had never seen any Russian troops in Donbas, nor had the monitors on the border seen any troops or armor cross over -- an easy thing to see.

We got some clues earlier as to the US thinking from the Munich conference, when Breedlove and Victoria Nuland were making one last big push to get the EU to go along with putting lethal military support into the coup government.

But most of the EU leaders were not budging as they saw the military conflict was just going to continue to destroy the country. This would assure the tens of billions of western loans needed over the next few years to keep Ukraine from defaulting on its loan portfolio would never be repaid and could trigger a new banking crisis.

Breedlove’s response in Munich to the “no military solution” objection had been to agree there probably could not be a military victory, but that it was important to keep the war going to give the Russian sanctions “time to work.”

This was an intensely immoral position to take when so much needless death and destruction has taken place, because the West actually did support Kiev in seeking a military solution, hoping that would force regular Russian troops to intervene and trigger a much larger Western military response. This would speed up the NATO expansion and integration of Ukraine -- and that is what this whole Ukrainian coup has been about from day one.

So now we have Kiev saying that detailed negotiations cannot be held until after elections. And then a few days later, it was announced that elections would be hard to get done in 2015. We heard no anger or outrage from the “missing in inaction” Western governments, once again.

We are now getting reports of violent provocations against the Donbas civilians under Kiev control, which have triggered protests, and then the Right Sector thugs were sent in to crush any visible opposition. Beatings, random apprehensions and disappearances have begun -- baiting the Republic governments to do something about it.

We did not have to wait long for their reply, which was that the killing of Donbas civilians under Ukrainian control would be considered a breach of Minsk by the Republics, who would feel obliged to protect them.

That such behavior would be condoned by allegedly free and Democratic Western governments is a disgrace. It is all being done while NATO and the US are parading new armored units in the Baltics under the silly pretext of protecting them from Russian invasion.

But the gangsters in Kiev have their hands full with domestic attacks, as we see Kolomoisky and his militia units seizing the offices of the main energy pipeline company and holding the building hostage to install his director. It was a circus hard to believe when I got the first reports.

But this evening, we learned that Kolomoisky was responding to a new law passed in the Rada that changed the voting quorum in the company to give the government 50% plus one share to have management control for the first time… a surprise in itself. Kiev authorities have not moved on this direct act of insurrection, and Western media is silent.

And to show Poroshenko that he means business, Kolomoisky’s bank, where Petro has $50 million on account, denied reports that Mr. K had seized Petro’s money as not true… that it was just a “technical glitch” that was blocking his access.

I am afraid things in Ukraine are going to get worse before they get better. It is beginning to look like Breedlove might have his way -- that the war will go on and on to “give more time for the sanctions to work”. We have to hold those responsible for this accountable now, not five or ten years from now.



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

17:03
Expert: Start of Armenian-Azerbaijani border delimitation in Tavush essential for Baku
Karen Igityan, an expert on regional issues and co-founder of the Armenian Project NGO, claims the start of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border...
16:34
Armenian expert reacts to Erdogan's statement
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated that Armenia needs to stop campaigning for international recognition of the 1915 Armenian...
16:05
Aliyev: Baku has agreed to Armenia-Azerbaijan talks in Kazakhstan
Baku has accepted Kazakhstan's proposal to host a meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, Azerbaijani President Ilham...
15:33
Record number of parliamentarians to attend Armenian Genocide commemorations in Australia
As Sydney and Melbourne's Armenian community prepare to commemorate the 109th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian National...
15:12
Armenian deputy mayor deplores unilateral concessions to Baku
The Armenian government’s decision to hand over four border villages to Azerbaijan poses threats to the Noyemberyan community in Tavush...
14:35
Protesters block Yerevan-Sevan highway
Fresh protests erupted in Armenia on Tuesday after the Interior Ministry announced the launch of border delimitation with Azerbaijan which would...
13:56
Armenian community leaders warn of border delimitation risks
The delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the section of Baghanis and Voskepar, border villages in the Noyemberyan...
13:21
Iran backs peaceful settlement of Armenia-Azerbaijan border issues
The continuation of Azerbaijan and Armenia’s efforts to resolve border issues peacefully is necessary for establishing lasting peace and...
13:03
Delimitation of Baghanis-Voskepar border section expected on Tuesday
The Baghanis-Voskepar road in Armenia’s Tavush Province has been closed due to mine clearance being carried out in the adjacent area, the...
12:35
Armenia, Azerbaijan start clarification of border coordinates
Armenia and Azerbaijan have started clarifying coordinates on the border between the two countries, the Armenian government reported on Tuesday....
11:59
Journalist Leo Nicolian denied entry to Armenia
Leo Nicolian, a French-Armenian conflict journalist, has been barred from entering Armenia. In a video from Yerevan’s Zvartnots...
11:32
Pashinyan: Armenia purchasing mostly defensive weapons
Armenia is buying mostly defensive weapons and its defense spending is some 15-20% of what Azerbaijan spends on arms purchase, Armenian Prime...
11:00
'We've made history', Mkhitaryan says after Inter's Serie A win
Inter Milan midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits that the team have long been imagining clinching Serie A against AC Milan. The 35-year-old...
17:05
People allowed to enter church in Armenian border village
Police officers on Monday allowed people to enter the Holy Mother of God Church in Voskepar, a border village in Armenia's Tavush Province....
16:35
Political prisoners Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan must be immediately released: statement
Opposition activists Narek Samsonyan and Vazgen Saghatelyan, co-hosts of the Imnemnimi podcast, have been illegally detained for one month now....
15:36
MP Tigran Abrahamyan blasts unilateral concessions to Baku
Opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan has denounced the Armenian leadership for unilateral concessions to Azerbaijan, rejecting the claims that the...
15:03
Armenia remains engaged with CSTO, chief says
Armenia continues to fulfill its obligations as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and all issues on the agenda are...
14:31
Putin-Pashinyan personal contact may take place soon, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will be able to discuss topical issues during a possible personal...
14:16
Ex-Armenian FM claims diplomacy can avert new war
Former Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan has rejected the Armenian leadership’s policy of territorial concessions to Azerbaijan to...
13:35
French Senate delegation joins EU mission for patrol in Goris
French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies and a delegation from the French Senate on Monday joined the EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) for...
13:17
Caring for nature, we have started with ourselves – Team Telecom Armenia
On April 22, Earth Day is celebrated all over the world. This year all events are centered on the theme “Planet vs. Plastics”....
13:10
Tensions run high in Armenia's Voskepar amid demining
Tensions are running high in Voskepar, a border village in Armenia’s Tavush Province, where local residents have been protesting against...
12:37
NATO official welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation deal
Javier Colomina, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, has welcomed Friday's agreement on...
12:15
180 bodies found in mass grave at hospital in Gaza
Palestinian civil defence crews have uncovered a mass grave inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza’s Khan Younis, with 180 bodies...
11:59
Yerevan airport reveals reason for flight delays
Zvartnots International Airport has delayed around a dozen flights to and from Yerevan initially scheduled for Monday morning. The airport...
11:34
Protests continue in Armenian border village
Protests in Kirants, a border village in Armenia’s Tavush Province, continued overnight Monday. Local residents keep blocking an...
11:01
Health-harming heat stress rising in Europe, scientists warn
Europe is increasingly facing bouts of heat so intense that the human body cannot cope, as climate change continues to raise temperatures,...
17:00
Inna Sahakyan joins jury of world's largest animation festival
Filmmaker Inna Sahakyan will serve on the jury for this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, the Armenian...
16:36
Statement on border delimitation deal violates Armenian laws, activist claims
The statement on a border delimitation agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan issued by the Armenian Foreign Ministry on Friday runs counter...
16:00
Azerbaijan 'restoring' Shushi's Realni School
After 2020, Shushi has become the focal point of Azerbaijan's efforts to erase, appropriate, and expropriate Armenian historical and...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}