Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Ukrainian Neo-Nazis Existential Threat to Russia (Francis A. Boyle)

Francis A. Boyle is an attorney and a professor of international law.  He's also the author of many books including, most recently, United Ireland, Human Rights and International Law.   He speaks with The Voice of Russia today in "Ukrainian Neo-Nazis Existential Threat to Russia."  Excerpt. 



"It looks like this is part of an orchestrated campaign with the crackdown by Kiev against the Russian-speakers in eastern and southern Ukraine coordinated with more sanctions against Russia. It could be, if these thuggish authorities in Kiev shed more blood of the Russian-speakers, that the Geneva negotiations would be fruitless, suggested by the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. So, I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that, but the signs are not very good," Francis Boyle, professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, told The Voice of Russia.

How can you comment on the current relations between Russia and the US? Is it possible that the countries would continue to impose mutual sanctions against each other? What are the possible consequences for both countries in that case?


I regret to report that, from my perspective over here, the visit by the CIA Director Brennan to Kiev on a surreptitious basis this weekend pretty much gave the orders for a crackdown we are now seeing by this gang of neo-Nazi thugs in power in Kiev. And Brennan has Obama’s ear, since he had been the White House council during the first Obama term on counterterrorism and intelligence, and things of this nature.
So, that is certainly my interpretation of what is going on now. Now, maybe in this discussion that President Putin had with President Obama, he might have convinced him to order these Nazi thugs to stand down. But right now, I regret to say it, it does not look like that is what is going on. And I'm afraid things will be getting worse form here.
There’s already been a statement that even before the peace negotiations in Geneva on Thursday, the US and the EU are considering imposing even more sanctions against Russia, which, from my perspective, are completely counterproductive to having reasonable good faith negotiations on Thursday. So, I regret to report, things don’t look very good at all from over here.