"It is good that some of the NATO member states are opposed to the belligerent move on the part of the United States in Ukraine", Lombardo said. "NATO had no purpose after the fall of the Soviet Union but the US continued to build it with countries all over the world and it became simply a force to carry out the US military agenda around the world as in Afghanistan. I don't think the people of Europe want war with Russia and this puts pressure on their governments".
"The United States is not very good at keeping its side of these agreements as we have seen with its withdrawal from the JCPOA agreement with Iran, various nuclear agreements and virtually every treaty it signed with the US indigenous peoples", he said. "If it is allowed to continue to break agreements, this will continue to happen and none of us will be safe".
"I think this just helps them sell more weapons and try to get concession", he said. "It is best that there not be concessions or the US will do this over and over again until there is an accident that can lead to real war, even a nuclear war".
"The US putting 8,500 troops on high alert is just another threat", Lombardo said. "It should be condemned by everyone".
"They claim that Russia is aggressive for having troops on its own territory, but NATO and the US are not aggressive by surrounding Russia, holding 'war games' near the Russian border and bringing missiles to the border", he said. "The US corporate media always says the Russian troops are on the Ukrainian border, not the Russian border. The image of most in the United States is that Russia is threatening to invade Ukraine and the US is supporting Ukraine's rights. It is very difficult for the truth to be heard in the United States".
"The US played a major role in the 2014 coup in Ukraine that brought in a very right-wing, pro-fascist government that is very anti-Russian", he said. "I have been in Ukraine twice in recent years and I watched one of the fascist torched-lit marches where they chanted 'Hang the Russians from the trees'. This is in a country that might be majority Russian. Now the United States is trying to use this right-wing force against Russia and that is a danger to the entire world".
"The United States wants to be able to use Ukraine to further surround and threaten Russia militarily. Just as the United States refused to allow this during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Russia must not allow this", he said.