US very selective in which country it condemns for crimes: Analyst

The US is very selective in which country it condemns for human rights abuses and crimes, which are very similar to its own atrocities, an American political activist says.

Former US President Barack Obama helped a coup in Ukraine which led to the rise of anti-Russian militant groups in country, said Myles Hoenig, who ran for the US Congress in 2016 as a Green Party candidate.

“Going back to [former] President [Bill] Clinton, the foreign affairs wing of the US foreign policy has been to isolate the former Soviet Union and prepare for a military attempt at regime change,” he told Press TV on Thursday.

Hoenig said the former Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea had every right to fight back a tyrannical pro-Western government in Kiev when it decided to rejoin Russia, amid new accusations by the United States that Russia has occupied the Black Sea territory.

“When the Obama administration helped to stage a neo-Nazi coup in 2014, all Russians within, and especially in the east, were wary of what was to come, a near genocidal war against them by the Kiev government,” said  Hoenig.

He said Crimea’s referendum to join Russia later that year was a right decision to allow Moscow annex a territory that had belonged to Russia since the Catherine the Great.

Hoenig also said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s designation of Russia as an occupier in Crimea was another reflection of Washington’s selective approach in foreign policy.

“The US is very selective in who it condemns for ‘occupation’, who it doesn’t, and crimes committed by other countries that are very similar to its own crimes,” he said, adding that the US has always turned a blind eye to the blatant occupation of the Palestinian territories by the Israeli regime and what is happening in “open air prison” of the Gaza Strip.

PressTV-Pompeo accuses Russia of ‘occupying’ Crimea

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused Russia of “occupying” the Crimean Peninsula, saying Washington “rejects” the move by Moscow.

The expert said US foreign policy has always been to counter Russia’s influence and Ukraine could well serve that objective.

“Always known as the ‘breadbasket of Europe’, having Ukraine as a military and economic ally has long been a goal,” Hoenig said, adding, “Ukraine has long been a target of the West’s attempt to hem in their adversary.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Pompeo reiterated that Washington rejected Russia’s occupation of the Crimean Peninsula.

“In concert with allies, partners and the international community, the United States rejects Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea and pledges to maintain this policy until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored,” said  Pompeo, adding, “The United States calls on Russia to respect the principles to which it has long claimed to adhere and to end its occupation of Crimea.”

Crimea voted in a referendum to join Russia on March 17, 2014. In the referendum, which was held a month after the overthrow of the then-president Viktor Yanukovych, 96.8 percent of participants voted in favor of unification with Russia.

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