Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Financial aid to Urkaine?

The Voice of Russia speaks with international law expert Francis A. Boyle about aid to Ukraine.  Excerpt:

The Both Houses of the US Congress have passed a bill providing assistance to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia. It envisages 50 million dollars in financial aid to Ukraine for improving democratic governance, anti-corruption efforts and supporting free and fair elections in Ukraine and allots additional $100 million to enhance security cooperation among the US, EU and countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The document also calls for the introduction of sanctions against Russian citizens, who, according to US senators, are associated with the violation of human rights in Ukraine or actions that undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The Voice of Russia talked to Francis Boyle, professor at the University of Illinois College of Law and author of Tackling America’s Toughest Questions.



Can this financial aid stabilize the financial situation in Ukraine?

Of course not. It is purely symbolic, it is pretty much money down the drain. I think everyone knows it. Ukraine has enormous financial problems, as you know. President Putin offered Yanukovich 15 billion dollars and a 5 billion dollar gas discount, which would have helped meet their immediate upcoming debts. But this is purely symbolic.

Is adoption of the bill a next step in freeze of the relations between Russia and US?

I am afraid that if you are listening to what is coming out of Brussels today at NATO headquarters, it doesn’t sound very good at all. They are jacking up the militarization of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania. Now they are talking about getting involved in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Moldova. It doesn’t look good at all. As for these sanctions, in fact, for undermining the territorial integrity of Ukraine, those should be imposed on Nulland and Payette, the assistant secretary of state and the US Embassador to Ukraine because if anyone has done anything more damaging to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, it was Nuland and Payette by sponsoring this neo-Nazi coup in Kiev that everyone has to deal with now.







the voice of russia