Posted on 11/05/2018 1:50:23 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
Russia, through its 2014 invasion of Ukraine and its attempted annexation of Crimea, sought to undermine a bedrock international principle shared by democratic states: that no country can change the borders of another by force. The states of the world, including Russia, agreed to this principle in the United Nations Charter, pledging to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. This fundamental principle — which was reaffirmed in the Helsinki Final Act — constitutes one of the foundations upon which our shared security and safety rests.
As we did in the Welles Declaration in 1940, the United States reaffirms as policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law. In concert with allies, partners, and the international community, the United States rejects Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea and pledges to maintain this policy until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored.
The United States calls on Russia to respect the principles to which it has long claimed to adhere and to end its occupation of Crimea. As democratic states seek to build a free, just, and prosperous world, we must uphold our commitment to the international principle of sovereign equality and respect the territorial integrity of other states. Through its actions, Russia has acted in a manner unworthy of a great nation and has chosen to isolate itself from the international community.
(Excerpt) Read more at state.gov ...
After years of failed and weakened Western leadership that opened the door for such a move to be possible, it's nice to finally see a clear, morally unequivocal statement on the matter. As a historian, I believe we are only getting started on unpacking its significance.
The Crimea was a part of Russia since 1783. Then in 1954 the Soviets transferred it to the Ukraine for purely political reasons. And something like 65% of Crimeans are Russian.
(Yes, the Russian bear needs to be challenged. But the Crimea is not the place for the US to make a moral argument.)
Crimea voted like 90-10 to peacefully leave Ukraine and join Russia.
Now lets talk ripping Kosovo from Serbia you @ss clown.
Whatever. The issue isn’t worth a single drop of American blood or one thin dime of America treasure.
Not one.
L
He’s a dumbass from Kansas on at least two things I can see in there. One, I would argue that Russia did not attempt to annex Crimea. It seems as though they accomplished it. Two, he says borders cannot be changed by force. Ukraine had a coup that did exactly that. When you seize a government by force, you do not automatically inherit everything the government you killed used to own. You only have a right to rule what you can defend by force. If some bunch of radical pussyhat him antifa types managed to seize DC, Texas would not be obligated to acquiesce that this is the new government because they happen to lie within the borders of the old USA. The minute the coup killed the Ukrainian government everybody has the same right to grab what they can as the coup leadership did.
For extra credit: in the middle of the 1800s can Pompeo tell us Who the British Invaders were fighting against in Crimea, during the famous Charge of the Light Brigade? Who was the enemy in Crimea the Brits were trying to eject, Pompeo? The neocons have this delusional fantasy that Sevastopol was going to become a NATO navy base. We would probably giveaway Norfolk Virginia about as soon as the Russians would do that.
“sought to undermine a bedrock international principle shared by democratic states: that no country can change the borders of another by force.”
And no doubt, Pompeo said this without the slightest sense of irony.
The vast majority of the Crimean people speak Russian not Ukrainian and they don’t want to be part of Ukraine esp. after the coup which was promoted by western interests and pro-western agitators trying to break Ukraine away from the influence of the Russian Federation. Not every sector of Ukraine held that opinion which is why the country broke in two. This is not our business. Ten thousand people have already died in that conflict the last time I looked (I don’t know the current number of war dead on both sides). I don’t want to see American troops going over there. I could care less about the whole situation, but I don’t want Europe to drag us into a regional conflict over there.
Not one.
Bingo.
The Ukrainian agitators started that coup in the middle of the Russian Olympics and they knew Putin could do nothing when he was hosting a gathering of world sports teams. Putin bided his time and did things his own way, to benefit his own country and the Russians living in Crimea. It was actually a masterful stroke of gamesmanship on Putin’s part. Like it or not, the western nations were shown how a master of politics operates. As I said in my prior post, I don’t particularly care what happens over there. Not my business, but it’s amusing how crazy some people get when they discuss that part of the world. Meanwhile Putin is doing his mining of diamonds in the Far East and digging all his minerals out of Siberia as he prepares to make Russia great again.
Excellent. Thank you.
All Russian hating neocons...please report for duty on the Eastern front.
Sorry, no deferrments...
The Serbs, et. al., will be glad to hear that.
You know as well as I do that, for all intents and purposes, the topic of Crimea is *closed*. It is *never* going back to Ukraine.
Maybe, but the real question is: what did Russian people lose by selling their souls to Putin’s regime in the name of imperial re-conquest?
They chose Crimea and another decade plus of Putin rule, instead of freedom.
You are correct. A warm water port and home to the aBlack Sea Fleet. Russia won’t give that up.
Russia won’t give that up.
This is what worry’s me. Ukraine has everything Russia needs and in abundance. Poroshenko is a butt kissing Putin toady.
Ukraine is a beautiful country with good people. They have been betrayed over and over by their government.
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