Mendacity is as Mendacity Does
"If you're talking about the Budapest Memorandum, we have not violated it."
"It contains only one obligation -- not to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
"What does it say about the mendacity of Russian diplomacy and its contempt for international opinion when the foreign minister says something that can be proven wrong with less than 30 seconds of Google fact checking?"
Steven Pifer, American diplomat
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| After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited thousands of nuclear missiles |
The Russian mission in the United Kingdom helpfully provided a link to the text of the Budapest Memorandum complete with all six obligations set down in it, clearly demonstrating that Russia has violated the agreement. This contradiction was set by disdainful design; the Russian foreign office, needless to say, is in full support of anything its seasoned Foreign Minister states with the authority of his office; even if the text of the Memorandum refutes his assertion, they blandly look aside, disinterested because they can say whatever they want, since they do whatever they want.
The crux of the matter is what the outside world thinks and feels about Moscow's initiatives to benefit itself in whatever way it feels entitled to, is of prime disinterest to Russian President Vladimir Putin. As in: what're you going to do about it, in any event? If North Korea's Dear Leader can poke his pudgy little fingers in the West's eyes whenever the urge takes him, then Russia's President can, with complete impunity, tease the international community to put their power where their pique is.
While Moscow is unconcerned about destabilizing world order, about its part in upturning normalcy between nations through the respect of sovereignty enough to restrain his acquisitive grasp as a benefactor of the Greater Russia Federation, instilling fear and foreboding in the quivering hearts of his eastern European neighbours, the West reels back in disbelief and croaks about sanctions teaching Mr. Putin a lesson while he grins and carries on.
As for the Budapest Memorandum, both Mr. Lavrov and his American critic Mr. Pifer, know better; the latter helped negotiate it, and the former signed it.
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| Putin in his annual state-of-the-nation speech asserted that Russia was "open to the world" and sought ties with "strategic partners," but he insisted that outside powers would never gain military superiority over Russia |
Labels: Crimea, Russia, Ukraine
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, February 04, 2016
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