West doing same to Ukraine as it did to Yugoslavia in 1990s

By blaming protesters in the east of Ukraine, the EU is encouraging radicals in Kiev and risks repeating what happened in Yugoslavia in the 1990s – a civil war followed by a bombing campaign – political analyst Aleksandar Pavic told RT.

RT:A lot of denouncements have been made by the US and the EU, stopping short of actually mentioning those responsible. Why?

Aleksandar Pavic: It’s because those are the people that are being sponsored by the West. It’s very simple; their radicals are able and allowed to do whatever they want. When it comes to unarmed citizens trying to just protect their equal rights from the junta in Kiev, then those are the ones who are supposedly instigating the violence. It’s just a matter of Western clients going unpunished and they are actually getting support from the West, which is a scandal.

RT:The EU and the US clearly blame Moscow for steering it, but why are they not coming up with any proof?

AP: They don’t have proof, but we have proof that the West is instigating this. And just the other day, Catherine Ashton, the EU’s commissioner for foreign policy, pretty much gave a green light to the extremists from Kiev. She pretty much said they had a right to establish law and order within the borders of the country. I would say that the EU has blood on its hands, especially Catherine Ashton. It’s the same thing they did in Yugoslavia in the 90s, when they started encouraging radicals, extremists, secessionists. They could do no wrong. On the other hand, legal authorities in Yugoslavia could do no right. Well it’s almost the same thing, but the other way around now in Ukraine.

RT:On the one hand, they are backing Kiev’s military crackdown in the east. On the other hand, they are calling for calm. How do those two things go together?

AP: They call for calm, but they call for calm from the other side. They call for calm from people who actually just want the federalization of Ukraine. On the other hand, they’re encouraging extremists from the Right Sector who have taken up arms, probably being armed and advised by the West right now. They are giving them the green light. So this makes sense from the Western view point. It’s not at all fair, it’s not balanced, and it’s actually a criminal sort of meddling in the internal affairs of a country. They are instigating civil war right now.

RT:How worried are you about the situation? Is there any middle ground to be gained at this point, as we head towards these elections on May 25? On the one hand, Russia does not accept the legitimacy of the interim government in Kiev, but that government sees backing from the West. Is anyone going to see eye to eye here? Or do you think the situation is going to get worse?

AP: I’m very worried about the situation. I’m seeing a repeat of the events of 20 years ago when the West made sure that no peace settlement was reached until it served its own interests. Instead of having peace in Yugoslavia as early as 1991, we had four years of bloody civil war until 1995, when the West got what it wanted. And then it opened up a new front again in 1999, with bombing Yugoslavia. They supported terrorists in Kosovo; they’re supporting them today. So as long as the West keeps doing that, and as long as we see the same people running things in Washington and Brussels, in London and Berlin – today as then – I don’t expect any good news anytime soon, unfortunately.

RT:Do you think the elections planned for May 25 will help calm the situation?

AP: Absolutely not. This cannot be a regular election under any circumstances, even if a ceasefire was somehow reached in the next couple of days; there’s no trust within the country anymore. It will take quite a while for that trust to be instituted. So on May 25 to have real elections – it will be a joke.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.