Transformative Politics: Green Party: The U.S. must cease meddling in #Ukraine and the #Crimean crisis

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:

This release is online at http://www.gp.org/index.php/green-party-press-releases/details/4/684.html

Contacts:

Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org

Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Green Party: The U.S. must cease meddling in Ukraine and the Crimean crisis

• The Green Party opposes U.S. military aid for the coup government in Ukraine

• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on foreign policy and energy:

http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-foreign-policy.php

http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-energy.php

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. and NATO must cease meddling in Ukraine and attempting to manipulate the Crimean crisis for geopolitical advantage, said leaders of the Green Party of the United States.

Greens said that the complex crisis must be resolved by Ukraine, Russia, and other countries in the region, and that the U.S. should encourage negotiation and respect the democratic rights of Ukrainians without outside interference. Such interference includes military and economic pressure.

• Paula Bradshaw, Green candidate for Congress in Illinois, 12th District (http://paula4congress.org):

"By supporting the street protests in Ukraine, the U.S. has empowered a dangerous ultranationalist political movement that includes neo-Nazi militias and has its own politial objectives. It has also facilitated the European Union's attempt to impose an economy based on neoliberal principles that will mean austerity and increasing debt for Ukrainians similar to the economic crisis in Greece. It's hypocritical for the U.S. to condemn the referendum in Crimea and deny the legitimacy of results that favor secession from Ukraine while also embracing the coup d'etat in Kiev. The outcome of the referendum was expected, since Crimea's population is mostly Russian. In fact, the U.S. has been interfering and using covert means to fan the flames of subversion in Ukraine, an objective that has been evident ever since the 'Ukraine in Washington 2013' conference on December 13, 2013. Undersecretary of State Virginia Nuland has admitted that the U.S. has spent $5 billion to influence Ukrainian politics. Coups are antidemocratic and illegal by definition. The Yanukovych government was corrupt, but such governments must be overturned by democratic means, not through putsches."

• Nancy L. Wade, Green candidate for Congress in Illinois, 5th District (http://www.wadeincongress.org): "Any U.S. actions taken with the intention of expelling Russian forces from South and East Ukraine will only escalate tensions and could easily result in a larger conflict. There's no evidence that Russia intends to invade West Ukraine. We recognize that President Putin has his own imperial designs in South and East Ukraine, including control over gas supply lines through Ukraine into Europe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia%E2%80%93Ukraine_gas_disputes). At the same time, the U.S. is seeking to dominate international fossil-fuel markets, even while such energy is causing increasing environmental harm in the age of climate change. Rejecting a confrontation with Russia doesn't mean we endorse Putin's actions, especially the show of military power in Crimea. Greens see the crisis as a conflict between Russian oligarchy on one side and the neoliberal oligarchy represented by the E.U. and NATO on the other side. We encourage diplomacy and nonviolent efforts to resolve the crisis that respect the democratically expressed will of Ukraine's ethnically and politically diverse people."

• Darryl! L.C. Moch, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States: "President Obama should resist pressure from Sen. John McCain and other politicians and pundits who insist on using military means to restrain Russia and seem determined to revive the Cold War. The Green Party strongly opposes any attempt by the U.S. to interfere in Ukraine or Crimea, whether by direct involvement or by sending military aid or by grandstanding and sanctions. We've already seen how the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, assault on Libya, and drone attacks in Pakistan and Yemen have left these countries in worse shape and deepened anti-U.S. sentiment. Americans should be skeptical of the flood of propaganda comparable to the public deceptions used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the withholding of intelligence that conflicted with the Obama Administration's claims in 2013 about the Assad government's use of sarin gas in Syria."

Monday, March 24, 2014

Green Party: The U.S. must cease meddling in #Ukraine and the #Crimean crisis