The United States has hit back at Moscow over comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Washington's role in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Share It :
In an interview with RT television broadcast on Wednesday, Lavrov accused the US of being behind the Ukraine turmoil and said Moscow would respond if its interests came under attack.
"There is no reason not to believe that the Americans are running the show," RT quoted him as saying.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki dismissed Lavrov’s remarks as “ludicrous”.
"I think many of the claims he made in his interview are ludicrous and they're not based in facts of what is happening on the ground," Psaki said.
Last week, Ukrainian authorities ordered a military offensive against the protesters, who seized government buildings in several towns and cities in eastern Ukraine, claiming that Russian special forces are fueling unrest in the country. On Tuesday, Kiev ordered security forces to resume "counter-terrorism operations".
In his interview, Lavrov stated that the timing of the renewed offensive during US Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Kiev revealed that "the Americans are running the show in the most direct way."
On April 17, Ukraine’s interim government together with the US, Russia and the European Union reached an agreement in the Swiss city of Geneva, calling for all sides to resolve the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
An American political commentator told Press TV on Sunday that the US has no intension of upholding the Geneva agreement over Ukraine rather it is going to escalate the crisis by piling up forces on Russia’s doorstep.
“The US has no intension of upholding the agreement (reached) in Geneva as its puppet government in Kiev has made no attempt to disarm the new fascists who engaged in shootout yesterday in eastern Ukraine – (a) clear indication that Washington is sanctioning these paramilitary groups that are still operating very effectively and who have representation in the Kiev junta’s cabinet,” Professor James Petras said.
The US policy is to “encircle Russia and to undermine its economy by imposing sanctions” and “provoke the confrontation,” Petras said.
