‘Poroshenko: Olive branch in one hand and gun firing bullets in Donetsk in the other’

Kiev is playing a duplicitous role in Donbass; it is negotiating peace and at the same time launching a brutal offensive against the civilians of Donetsk and Lugansk, Marcus Papadopoulos, Publisher and Editor of Politics First magazine, told RT.

RT:Less than a day after Kiev launched its assault, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has called for a renewed effort to implement the Minsk peace agreement. How does that fit?

Marcus Papadopoulos: A lot of ordinary people in the world view politics as a dirty business and the behavior of the Ukrainian government is an excellent example as to why people think along those lines. Because the Ukrainian government has been playing duplicitous role in regard to the situation in Ukraine. On the one hand, Kiev is talking about peace, is talking about the Minsk agreement, is talking about peace in general, but on the other hand it has launched a brutal large offensive against the Donbass, against the people of Donetsk and Lugansk. Ordinary people are now suffering, people are dying, there is no electricity, there is no energy, and there is a shortage of food and water. It is a disgusting form of behavior from the Ukrainian government.

READ MORE:Poroshenko rejected Putin’s artillery withdrawal plan, began assault - Kremlin

When we see Petro Poroshenko talking about peace, all we have to remember that on the one hand,he has an olive branch, but on the other hand, he has a gun because bullets, missiles are being fired now consecutively into Donetsk and it’s ordinary people who are dying. And the Western world is completely oblivious to that.

RT:It is now up to Kiev to pull out the weaponry out of the region. Do you think it is likely to happen? What can we expect in Eastern Ukraine in the nearest future?

MP: Unless the militia in Eastern Ukraine, in Donetsk gives the Ukrainian forces and Ukrainian power military forces a bloody nose, and then I think it is very unlikely for Kiev to pull back its heavy artillery. Petro Poroshenko has made it very clear that he is going to reclaim Donbass by force even if the vast majority of people in Donbass voted overwhelmingly in favor to run their own affairs. Poroshenko has made it very clear that by all means necessary including brutal force he is going to reclaim those areas.

However, the real power lies in Washington and Brussels because Poroshenko is just a puppet. If Washington and Brussels want a solution, if they want peace in Donbass, there will be peace. I don’t agree with commentators when they say that Kiev holds the button. No, it is Washington and it is Brussels who hold the button in regards to a solution in Eastern Ukraine.

RT:The EU's Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini admits the return of violence in Eastern Ukraine is a turn for the worse. So what role does the EU have in de-escalating the situation in the Donbass region?

MP: The EU can talk about violence not being a good thing, but on the other hand they, and the Americans have given Kiev a blank check to do what it wants in the country and in particular in Eastern Ukraine. The EU played a very important role in bringing down the democratically elected government of Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014. That paved the way for Poroshenko to come to power. The EU needs to stop paying lip service to concepts such as peace and stability and tell their puppet in Kiev, Petro Poroshenko, and the rest of his cabinet, that they must refrain from using violence in the east of the country because it is ordinary people who are dying and quite frankly the people in Kiev, their actions constitute war crimes, and therefore they are war criminals.

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