Schroeder also criticized NATO, as "this alliance does not have a political purpose, and its actions do not help to build trust, but on the contrary, create more and more concerns". Measures to solve the Ukrainian crisis "should be solely diplomatic", he stressed.
Schroeder spoke against attempts to isolate Russia, particularly by rejecting to attend the G8 summit in Sochi. "In such critical conditions, any measures that block further discussions are wrong," Schroeder noted.
When asked about whether Germany could take a tougher position on the issue, he emphasized that "boycotts should be used in a way that does not harm your own interests."
As G8 countries announced they had suspended praparations for the group's summit slated to take place in the Russian city of Sochi in June, Martin Sieff, American columnist with the Post Examiner newspaper, told in an interview to the Voice of Russia, why, in his opinion, the move is "a very bad mistake" and how US and Europe contradict their basic principles.
What do you think about Russia and the G8 summit in Sochi? Is it possible that Russia will be out of that?
I think there is a very real possibility of that. I think it would be a very bad mistake. I think it is crucially important for not just Russia but the US and the other G8 members to maintain full dialogue and communications now, it is more important than ever. But I think the attitude in Washington towards events in Ukraine and Crimea are galloping at such a speed and the lack of real dialogue between Washington and Moscow is now so serious that the survival of G8 and Sochi is very much in doubt.
If the US is siding with the people who have seated the power in Ukraine with the help of extremists, doesn't that mean that they are supporting radicalism?
Yes, this is exactly what it means and this is the great contradiction in the American and European position. If this kind of events of violent revolution like this was happening in any western European nation, or ally of the US anywhere in the world or around the western hemisphere, the US reaction and the European reactions would certainly be to support the central government as strongly as possible because Ukraine was not a dictatorship. President Yanukovich was democratically elected, he was still in his first term, he had lost the previous election, previously the Ukrainian presidents were defeated, have stood down, Ukraine had freedom of the press, was peaceful, had independent political parties, Ukraine was free and democratic. There was no justification for a violent toppling of the government.
What can be done right now to eradicate extremism in Ukraine?
The best course of action would be for the US not to demonize Russia but to open up negotiations with Russia about stabilizing Ukraine. Ukraine is deeply divided because of the irresponsibility mainly of European Union policies and also to a significant degree of US policies. What is crucially important is first of all to try and get western aid to keep the economy afloat and secondly to develop a constructive dialogue and participation so that there is a true coalition government for the moment in Kiev because right now it is crucially important that eastern Ukraine and western Ukraine work together well enough to prevent disintegration.
" dreamtime says:
March 2, 2014 at 9:04 am
It’s a complicated issue without a doubt. Yanukovych and his sons and cronies ran the country like their own piggy bank. They extorted 50% of all big business in the country and shut down the other 50% because they didn’t want to cooperate with them. They amassed hundreds of billions of dollars and wired it out of the country. Hopefully a good chunk of those accounts are now frozen and can be returned back to the country. Their tax police terrorized the population for years. They would show up where they want, remove everything in an office and the manager/owner would have to go to the tax police office and pay a bribe to get things back. This is not communism, not democracy, just plain old criminal behavior which is how the UA and RU people operate. This is their business as usual behavior.
Anything is better than this scenario. They deserve to be thrown out of office no matter how it gets done. The Yanukovych election was fraudulent to begin with so saying it’s a proper democratic gov. makes no sense.
Democracy has never existed in Ukraine and never will. Ukrainians and Russians have a mentality that has no relation the word democratic. Additionally, democratic is a catch word that is supposed to mean fair and honest but is neither.
Add to this mix the EU/US/RU geo-political disputes and we have another layer to this disaster.
I think the solution is for people to raise themselves and change for the better their consciousness about life on planet earth. Everything else is just empty talk."
I don't doubt that people were engaged in corruption and illegal activities in Ukraine. So while the government in Ukraine might have been "legitimate", it might not be in the people's best interests to force its return. Hopefully what eventually becomes the government can be one that works toward the people's benefit.