EODE/ 2016 09 30/
With Russian MFA – Komsomolskaya Pravda/
When asked by a journalist from Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda what had happened in Syria that had erased the months-long diplomatic effort, Zakharova said that the context of current Russian-US relations should be examined through the prism of domestic US politics that impacts Washington’s behavior on the international stage. The spokeswoman explained that US behavior in terms of its approach to Syria and Russia in general is influenced by two facts, the first of which is the inability of the outgoing US President Barack Obama to produce tangible results in terms of his stated foreign policy objectives which have not materialized after eight years in office.
“He [Obama] had received a credit [of trust] to perform a particular job as the head of the country, which declares itself an international leader,” Zakharova said. “[Obama] now needs to do everything possible to somehow influence something, and somehow inscribe himself in the history of international relations, as long as the international community has issued him with such a credit [of trust]. He needs to report but there is nothing to report. Almost everything that he stated on the foreign policy direction, did not play out.” Now in order to secure his legacy in the international arena, the office of the Noble Peace Prize laureate is being “hysterical” and getting “impudent” in its foreign policies.
The second domestic process that impacts American diplomacy is the US presidential election race where both candidates, Democrat Hilary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, are manipulating foreign issues to secure their victory, especially when it comes to US relations with Moscow. “Unfortunately, this is the trouble of the modern world, where the largest and most powerful empire uses international relations and international platforms for addressing internal issues, political processes and ambitions. It is our misfortune. We are all hostages to it,” Zakharova said.
Not diplomacy but “shaping public opinion” is what drives American behavior on international platforms such as the United Nations, Zakharova said, calling such an approach an “online reality show” demonstrated to audiences to influence their opinion of US politicians. Zhakharova called Power’s attack on Churkin following the American strike on Syrian army positions a “part of the show.” The show is there to “distract attention” America’s inability to fulfill its obligations, Zakharova said. “You need to explain to the world why the Syrian settlement is not moving on, why the year-long efforts are now negated. Who’s to blame? Russia.”
Claiming that no one is buying this “wag the dog” approach, Zhakharova stressed that battling terrorism calls for an “adequate action,” namely combining efforts with Russia on Syria.
“Now it has come to this critical moment – either they fulfill their obligations, or the [peace] process can really slow down seriously,” the diplomat stressed, reiterating Lavrov’s comments to Kerry earlier in the day. The US and its allies are using “cliches”, demanding that Russia must explain its actions Syria and prove the “seriousness” of its commitment to peace. “But who are they that we have to prove something to them?” the diplomat wondered. “It is they who have to prove [their commitment], after destroying Iraq, Libya, walking all over the Middle East with their boots, breaking all conceivable laws of existence in the region.” “It is they who have to prove the sincerity of their intentions with regard to Syria …that they see this state as a state, not some colony or some kind of black hole,” she said.
EODE PRESS OFFICE / KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA