Point by Point, State Department Rebuts Putin on Ukraine
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Version 0 of 1. WASHINGTON — Obama administration officials watched President Vladimir V. Putin’s defiant news conference on Tuesday with barely concealed scorn. Time after time, they argued, Mr. Putin had distorted reality. So on Wednesday, the administration put its argument in writing. In a rare, in-your-face statement more reminiscent of a political campaign than the rarefied world of diplomacy, the State Department issued a “fact sheet” rebutting what it called “10 False Claims About Ukraine” made by the Russian president. “As Russia spins a false narrative to justify its illegal actions in Ukraine,” the department’s statement said, “the world has not seen such startling Russian fiction since Dostoyevsky wrote, ‘The formula “two plus two equals five” is not without its attractions.’ ” Among other things, the statement rejected assertions by Mr. Putin that Ukraine’s new government is illegitimate, that its Parliament is under the influence of extremists or terrorists and that Russian forces were acting to protect Russian military assets. Contrary to what Mr. Putin contended, “there have been no incidents of attacks on churches” and “absolutely no evidence of a humanitarian crisis” prompting Ukrainian refugees to seek Russian asylum, the statement said. The most salient claim that Mr. Putin has made to justify the military intervention in Crimea is that ethnic Russians were targeted for violence, requiring rescue. “Outside of Russian press and Russian state television, there are no credible reports of any ethnic Russians being under threat,” the statement said. It added, “Ethnic Russians and Russian speakers have filed petitions attesting that their communities have not experienced threats.” Referring to the Ukrainian capital, it said: “Furthermore, since the new government was established, calm has returned to Kyiv. There has been no surge in crime, no looting, and no retribution against political opponents.” |