Sudwest Presse article “Russia: A big settlement of accounts with the US”
18 January 2018 - 17:28
We took note of the article by Stefan Scholl published by the German newspaper Sudwest Presse on January 16 under the title “Russia: A big settlement of accounts with the US” (Russland: Große Abrechnung mit den USA). This article, written after Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s annual press conference on January 15, is more fake news.
First, Scholl confidently ascribes to Lavrov an idea that he did not voice and was not even close: “The unarmed demonstration of pro-Ukrainian Tatars in March 2014 was presented by him (Sergey Lavrov) as an attack on the Crimean Parliament by Islamist extremists.” But what did the Russian Foreign Minister actually say? Here’s the accurate quote: “A short time after this, on February 26, the putschists (those who had seized power in Kiev) directly authorised the use of force by the Right Sector, as well as such organisations as Hizb ut-Tahrir and a Wahhabi group to take the Crimean Supreme Council building by storm. Many tend to forget about this now. All this happened within five days of the European grandees’ failure to persuade members of the opposition to deliver on what they signed onto on February 20. Only after that did all the processes begin, after the use of force was authorised against the Crimean Supreme Council and it immediately became crystal clear that the Crimeans wanted nothing to do with this illegitimate government. This was also a violation of international law, including the Budapest Memorandum I mentioned earlier on, under which Ukraine undertook not to support xenophobic sentiments.”
We would like to take a moment to remind Scholl and Sudwest Presse what “the unarmed demonstration of pro-Ukrainian Tatars” on February 26, 2014 looked like and what it could have led to.
It is widely known that two people were trampled to death, but there was no assault. It was only owing to the selfless actions of local law enforcement officers, Crimean politicians and ordinary citizens that bloodshed and open confrontation between ethnic communities living on the peninsula were prevented. It would be interesting to know how Scholl would have described this “unarmed demonstration” if his friends or relatives were part of it.
Second, while accusing Sergey Lavrov of playing loose with the facts in his comments on the situation in Ukraine, the German correspondent wrote in black and white that Maidan took place after February 20, 2014, when in reality it had taken place a couple of months before. Similar events had taken place several years before as well. Displaying amazing consistency, Scholl decides to keep silent on who organised these maidans and how, and what role the German Government played in them. Scholl does not remind his readers how the “peaceful demonstrations” ended in Kiev where civilians were killed by “unidentified” snipers and what happened after the radicals of the Right Sector (banned in Russia) and maidan self-defence units set fire to the House of Trade Unions in Odessa on May 2, 2014 when at least 48 people were burned alive. Nor does he mention the “trains of friendship” with radicals that were sent by Kiev in February-March 2014 to subdue Crimea. To sum up, Scholl decided not to mention any events that do not fit the mythology of “the revolution of dignity.”
Third, his choice to quote Roman Tsymbalyuk, the correspondent of a Ukrainian news agency working in Moscow, as an expert commentator is questionable. He is unbiased on every topic except Ukraine. In rough Moscow where life, in the opinion of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, is as dangerous as in Somalia, the Ukrainian correspondent has been selflessly fighting the “aggressor” behind enemy lines for more than one year. We are wondering why Scholl did not quote eye-witnesses of the “Crimean Spring” or Russian journalists whom the Kiev regime repeatedly kicked out of Ukraine, accusing them of endangering national security.
We hope the editors of Zudwest Presse will read our comment and take it to heart.
http://static6.swp-plus.de/ulm/nachr...222886,4506222
The source of information -
http://www.mid.ru/en/nedostovernie-p...ent/id/3023202