Russia warning ignorance, scary mistake by US: Analyst

The United States would be committing a big mistake should it ignore Russia’s threat of taking action to repel anti-Moscow moves over the crisis in Ukraine, an analyst says.

David Lindorff, an American investigative journalist, was talking to Press TV two days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow reserves the right to take appropriate action if the West continues its anti-Russia moves.

“So for the US not to take seriously Russia’s announcement that it is going to defend its southern border from that kind of interference, it would be a very scary mistake,” Lindorff stated.

The analyst said European countries heavily depend on Russia’s gas, which is delivered to them via a pipeline cutting through Ukraine.

“Russia holds some of the higher cards in this kind of high stakes Poker with economic sanctions,” he added.

Lindorff stated that any attempt by Washington to pit the European governments against Russia would be like inflicting “very depressing impact” on the European economy.

“The wiser heads are aware that it is within Russia’s sphere of influence and it would be madness to try to take on the Russian army right next to its own border,” he said.

The United States and its allies have recently imposed new sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.

Tensions between the West and Moscow over Ukraine heightened after Crimea declared independence from Kiev and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16, in which about 97 percent of voters said yes to reunion with Russia.