Europe

Kiev turning crisis into Russia-West conflict: Analyst

Kiev turning crisis into Russia-West conflict

The post-coup Ukrainian government may be trying to trigger a full-fledged military confrontation between Western governments and Russia, an analyst tells Press TV.

In a Wednesday interview, James Jatras spoke to Press TV about Ukrainian troops clamping down on pro-Russia protesters.

He said the objective pursued by Ukraine’s Special Forces may be to turn Ukraine’s internal conflict “first into a confrontation between Ukraine and Russia and then trying to rope the West – United States and Europe – into what could be a broader military confrontation with Russia.”

Jatras said the American and European officials were behind the so-called “pro-democracy groups that helped to bring down the elected government in Kiev” in March.

“That’s not democracy after you’ve had this kind of violent seizure of power,” he added.

Jatras said a “compromised solution” in Ukraine would depend on the will of the Kiev administration and “their Western backers.”

“The question is for Kiev: do they really want to turn this into a violent civil confrontation that could get completely out of control or whether they want a solution that benefits and suits the needs of all people in Ukraine,” he noted.

According to reports, pro-Moscow activists continue to occupy government, police and other administrative buildings in nearly 10 cities close to the Russian border. Protesters have been demanding local referendums on either independence or integration into Russia.

Pro-Russia rallies gained momentum in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine after the Crimean territory declared independence from the former Soviet state and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation. Crimea held a referendum on March 16, in which almost 97 percent of the participants voted for rejoining Russia, with a turnout of more than 83 percent.

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