US President Barack Obama has ruled out military involvement in Ukraine, saying Washington should not “trigger an actual war with Russia.”
In an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, Obama said, “We are not going to be getting into a military excursion in Ukraine.”
“We do not need to trigger an actual war with Russia,” he stated, hours after the USS Truxtun, a US Navy guided-missile destroyer, started joint exercises with Romanian and Bulgarian ships a few hundred kilometers from the Russian forces deployed in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
The US president warned that Russian might is not right, condemning Moscow for “violating the sovereignty” of Ukraine.
He stated that his administration continues to put pressure on Russia over its role in secession of Crimea from Ukraine, referring to Sunday’s referendum in Crimea to become part of Russia.
Nearly 97 percent of residents of the Black Sea peninsula voted to break away from Ukraine and rejoin Russia in the referendum that has triggered the biggest crisis in relations between the US and Russia since the Cold War.
On Monday, Crimea declared independence and formally applied to become part of Russia. Next day, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty making Crimea part of Russia, saying the vote demonstrated the overwhelming will of the Crimean people to be reunited with Russia after 60 years as part of the Ukrainian republic.
Also on Monday, the US and the European Union imposed sanctions on several individuals from Russia and Ukraine, arguing they were involved in Russia’s military build-up in the peninsula.
Ruling out US military action in Ukraine, Obama said, “There is a better path, but I think even the Ukrainians would acknowledge that for us to engage Russia militarily would not be appropriate and would not be good for Ukraine either.”
In a speech to a joint session of the Russian parliament in the Kremlin, Putin defended on Tuesday Crimea’s referendum as democratic and legal, saying the region is an inseparable part of Russia.
“In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia,” he said.
The Russian leader criticized the US and its allies for what he called hypocrisy, saying they had endorsed Kosovo’s independence in a referendum from Serbia but now denied the people of Crimea the same right. “You cannot call the same thing black today and white tomorrow.”
If 97% of the residents of Crimea want to be a part of Russia, how can we complain? I thought we were in favor of democratic elections?? This is the will of the people… I’m sure that election was more legitimate that the one that elected our current domestic enemy of the Constitution who received MORE THAN 100% of the votes in numerous districts…but to point that out makes me a “racist” because only black people have a race and skin color…
Besides, Obama’s ramping up the Department of Homeland Suppression for his own little war against Americans….Russia will have to wait…