TENSE US-RUSSIA RELATIONS

The most perilous time in the history of the world

Stephen Lendman
I HAVE stressed time and again that today is the most perilous time in world history. It’s because of US rage to control planet earth, its resources, and populations by whatever it takes to achieve its objectives — preemptive wars against nonbelligerent states are its favoured strategy.
Bipartisan US neocons risk the unthinkable – possible nuclear war against key adversaries, the threat hanging like a sword of Damocles over humanity.Jack Kennedy transformed himself from a warrior to peacemaker in office — why dark forces in Washington eliminated him.
He once slammed extremists during his tenure who wanted to nuke Soviet Russia while the US had a big advantage, saying: “And we call ourselves the human race.” Since his time in office, none like him have held high-level executive or congressional positions in Washington.
Following his state-sponsored assassination to the present day, the US has been perpetually at war against invented enemies. No real ones existed since Japan’s September 1945 surrender. Yet countless trillions of dollars have been and continue to be poured down a black hole of waste, fraud and abuse to enrich Wall Street; the military, industrial, security, media complex; and other corporate predators — profiteering at the public trough at the expense of vital homeland needs and social justice.
Sino/Russian unity is a vital anti-imperial counterforce against Washington’s threat to world peace, stability and security. Recently, Sergey Lavrov discussed major world issues in an interview with a Moscow broadsheet, published in English by Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
Sergey Lavrov is a Russian diplomat and politician. In office since 2004, he is the Foreign Minister of Russia. Previously, he was the Russian Representative to the UN, serving from 1994 to 2004.
Asked if improved relations with the US is possible ahead, he said it won’t “materialize any time soon since it is anything but easy to sort out the mess that our relations are in, which is not our fault,” adding: “After all, bilateral relations require reciprocal efforts. We have to meet each other half way.”
Russia seeks world peace and cooperative relations
Russia seeks world peace and cooperative relations with other countries. The US wages endless preemptive wars and other hostile actions against nonbelligerent nations to dominate them — breaching international and constitutional law, operating exclusively by its own rules.
Russia and the US are the world’s leading nuclear powers, Lavrov stressed. They’re founding UN member states and permanent Security Council members, giving them veto power over its actions — for good or ill.
“…Trump talks about seeking to be on good terms with Russia,” said Lavrov — while hardliners in his regime and Congress are overwhelmingly hostile towards the country despite no threat posed by its ruling authorities.” Count the ways. Hostile US actions against Moscow include “financial and economic sanctions, seizing diplomatic property, kidnapping Russian nationals in third countries, opposing Russia’s foreign policy interests, as well as attempts to meddle in our domestic affairs,” Lavrov explained, adding: The US/UK Anti-Russia Conspiracy and the Skripal Affair, “We are seeing system-wide efforts to reach out to almost all countries around the world and persuade them to scale back their relations with Russia.”
“Many US politicians are trying to outshine each other in ramping up anti-Russia phobias, and they are using this factor in their domestic political struggles. We understand that (this) will only escalate in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.”
The Kremlin is falsely accused of all sorts of things it had nothing to do with — from “aggression” in Ukraine, to the Skripal incident, to the downing of MH17, to Crimea joining Russia, to its involvement in Syria, to US election meddling, and much more — all of it Big Lies, assuring hostile, not friendly, relations.
Washington’s unpredictable actions
“…Washington has been inconsistent and quite often unpredictable in its actions. For this reason, trying to predict anything in our relations with the US is a fruitless task,” said Lavrov, adding:-“(A)s Russia is concerned, we are ready to patiently work on improving our relations. Of course, this will be possible only if Russia’s interests are respected, and based on equality and mutual respect.”
The US has been hostile toward Russia since its 1917 revolution — except during WW II to defeat the scourge of Nazism and other brief interregnum periods, notably in the late 1980s ahead of Soviet Russia’s December 1991 dissolution.
Bilateral relations today are more dismal than during the height of the Cold War. Nothing in prospect suggests improvement.
Unparalleled threat to planet earth and all its life forms
It’s highly unlikely as long as US policy prioritizes control of the country and all others. Its aggressive agenda represents an unparalleled threat to planet earth and all its life forms.
In relations with other nations, Russia observes international laws and related obligations — polar opposite how the US and its imperial partners operate, making normalized bilateral relations unattainable.
Lavrov slammed “aggressive (US) methods…using illegal methods” in dealings with Russia and other nations it considers adversaries. “(T)he Donbass remains extremely disturbing,” he said, US-supported Kiev war on its people in its sixth year, no signs of ending it under new President Vladimir Zelensky — serving US interests and dark forces in his country like his predecessor Poroshenko.
A new era under his leadership didn’t materialize. He broke his inaugural address promise, saying the following:- “(O)ur first task is ceasefire in the Donbass…I’m ready to pay any price to stop the deaths…(W)e are ready for dialogue…” At the same time, he falsely accused Russia of starting (US orchestrated) war launched by his predecessor, shamefully calling Russia an “aggressor state” — while referring to Donbass and Crimea as “our Ukrainian land.”
Lavrov slammed what he called continuation of “the disastrous course” begun in spring 2014 — following the Obama regime’s coup, replacing Ukraine’s democratically elected government with Nazi-infested putschists. Lavrov also stressed Russia’s strategic relations with Iran, sharply criticizing US policies toward the country, its leadership and people, saying:-
“The escalating tension in the region we are witnessing today is the direct result of Washington and some of its allies raising the stakes in their anti-Iranian policy. The US is flexing its muscles by seeking to discredit Tehran and blame all the sins on the Islamic Republic of Iran. This creates a dangerous situation: a single match can start a fire. The responsibility for the possible catastrophic consequences will rest with the United States.”
Iran has no aggressive regional aims, Lavrov stressed. It seeks peace and cooperative relations with other states. Russia is acting “proactive(ly) to deescalate tensions…” The Kremlin wants the JCPOA nuclear deal preserved. US and European actions may doom it. As long as Britain, France, Germany, and the EU remain in breach of their obligations, Tehran will continue moving toward fully resuming its legitimate pre-agreement nuclear activities — its legal right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and JCPOA Articles 26 and 36.
Lavrov stressed that the Kremlin is “working with (other JCPOA signatories) to preserve (the deal) to promote a settlement on the Iranian nuclear programme.”
Achieving this objective depends on European actions ahead. Based on what has happened so far, prospects are dim.
As for Russia/US relations now and ahead, Lavrov explained that “after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the West came to believe that it was the end of history and the West can now blatantly interfere (in) the affairs of any country and presumptuously call the shots in its domestic politics.”
This reality reflects the dismal state of world conditions, notably endless US wars of aggression to transform sovereign independent nations into vassal states.That’s what the scourge of imperialism is all about. — Global Research.
[Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected] sbcglobal.net. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”]