“Having illegally invaded a sovereign country in 2003, the US armed forces have not yet left its territory. Now, under the guise of noble goals of counter-terror, they are actually trying to keep the situation under tight control not only in resource-rich Iraq but also in the region as a whole, playing the role of a gendarme,” Antonov told reporters in a statement.
According to the Russian envoy, even 20 years later, Washington refuses to admit its own mistakes and tries to underscore that the Americans have the right to do whatever they deem necessary and hence no state today can feel protected if something does not please the United States.
On March 19, 2003, then President George W. Bush in a televised address from the Oval Office said the US and coalition forces were in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq and "free its people," marking the start of an invasion and occupation that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians and combatants.