The US has alleged that Russia is destabilising situation in Ukraine and warned Moscow that if it continued in this direction, it will not just be a “grave mistake” but an “expensive” one.
“So, following today’s threatening movement of Russian troops right up to Ukraine’s border, let me be clear: If Russia continues in this direction, it will not just be a grave mistake, it will be an expensive mistake,” Secretary of State John Kerry had said yesterday.
The international response to the choices made by Russian leaders is already taking its toll on Russian economy, he said.
“The world will remain united for Ukraine. So I will say it again. The window to change course is closing. President Putin and Russia face a choice. If Russia chooses the path of de-escalation, the international community — all of us — will welcome it. If Russia does not, the world will make sure that the cost for Russia will only grow,” Kerry said as he accused Russia of trying to destabilise the situation in Ukraine.
Noting that a crisis cannot be resolved with the willingness of only one side to avoid a confrontation, Kerry said Russia continued to send even up to today its armoured battalions right up to the Luhansk Oblast border since Geneva agreement, making it a tale of “two countries with vastly different understandings to uphold an international agreement” for the world.
“One week later, it is clear that only one side, one country, is keeping its word. And for anyone who wants to create gray areas out of black, or find in the fine print crude ways to justify crude actions, let’s get real — the Geneva agreement is not open to interpretation.
“It is not vague. It is not subjective. It is not optional. What we agreed to in Geneva is as simple as it is specific,” he said.
He said world, sadly, has rightly judged that Russia has put its faith in distraction, deception, and destabilisation by refusing to take a single concrete step in the right direction in seven days.
“Not a single Russian official, not one, has publicly gone on television in Ukraine and called on the separatists to support the Geneva agreement, to support the stand-down, to give up their weapons, and get out of the Ukrainian buildings.
“In fact, the propaganda bullhorn that is the state-sponsored Russia Today program, has been deployed to promote — actually, Russia Today network — has deployed to promote President Putin’s fantasy about what is playing out on the ground,” he said.