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.
francis a. boyle
the voice of russia