Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the BRICS Civil Forum in Moscow, yesterday, cautioned that the Pentagon’s statement condoning the use of U.S. weapons for strikes on Crimea—made by Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder at a July 2 Pentagon briefing—essentially gives Kiev a free pass to commit acts of violence.
“This is a reflection of their policy of encouraging Kiev, giving it a free pass for any crimes, any provocations, which are fraught with the most grave consequences in terms of the growing threats of a wider conflict,” the diplomat said, reported TASS. “The Pentagon has always positioned itself as a responsible agency, and this responsibility has now degenerated into this agency pushing the political leadership of its country towards taking actions that are difficult to predict in terms of what may follow.”
