MOSCOW, March 6 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry harshly criticized Washington on Thursday over a lack of an “adequate perception” of events in Ukraine.
The statement came as a response to a “fact sheet” issued by the US State Department that employed unusually pointed language to mock Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent public remarks on Ukraine.
The fact sheet, headlined “President Putin’s Fiction: 10 False Claims About Ukraine,” calls Putin’s remarks the most “startling Russian fiction” since famous novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote that “the formula ‘two plus two equals five’ is not without its attractions.”
Commenting on the fact sheet, Russian ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said: “It’s evident that Washington officials are still unable to adequately perceive the events that fail to develop under their scenario.”
“They are unable to overcome their emotions and deal with the fact that they cannot dictate their will, anywhere and at any time, [that they cannot] take up their favorite role as a global judge who always has the last word,” he said.
“The US does not and will never have the moral authority to teach others about international norms and respect to other countries’ sovereignty. What about the [1999 NATO] bombings of former Yugoslavia and the [2003] invasion of Iraq on false pretenses?” the spokesman continued.
“Under the guise of protecting its citizens, who found themselves in a zone of a conflict, the US invaded Lebanon in 1958, the Dominican Republic in 1986, attacked tiny Grenada in 1983, bombed Libya in 1986 and occupied Panama three years later. At the same time, they dare to accuse Russia of ‘military aggression’ when it tries to protect its compatriots who make up the majority of the Crimean population,” Lukashevich said.
The parliament of Crimea, a largely Russian-speaking region of Ukraine, said Thursday that it intended to secede and request annexation by Russia. A popular vote on the issue is to be held in the region on March 16.
Thousands of troops apparently lacking official insignia but carrying weapons and wearing uniforms used by Russian soldiers have taken control over Ukrainian military bases across Crimea in the past week. Putin has insisted that the masked soldiers are “local militia.”
