Pompeo in Sochi with Putin and Lavrov

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Following talks with Pompeo, Lavrov called for dispelling "suspicions and prejudices" as a way to "start building a new constructive relationship," adding:

"Russia is interested in normalizing our dialogue. We are convinced that it is possible and realistic if the dialogue is based on mutual respect and consideration for interests."

"I hope that today we will be able to try to work out concrete proposals aimed at pulling Russia-US relations out of their current sad state in which they find themselves due to a variety of objective and subjective reasons."

"The fact that we are meeting for the second time in the past two weeks inspires certain optimism.  Let's give it a try and see what happens."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called talks "very" constructive, claiming they showed mutual interest in restoring normal bilateral relations.

Following his meeting with Pompeo, Putin said the following:

"(W)e have said many times that we would…like to restore (normal) relations…I hope that the necessary conditions for this are being created now since" the Mueller report found no evidence Trump/Russia collusion…which we described as sheer nonsense from the very start." 

"There was no, nor could there be any interference on our part in the US election at the government level. Nevertheless, regrettably, these allegations have served as a reason for the deterioration of our interstate ties."

On this issue, Lavrov said "(i)t's clear that such insinuations are absolute fiction." Nothing suggests that the US position on this and other major bilateral differences will change.

Putin failed to explain that the Mueller report falsely accused Russia of US election meddling — based on the fabricated US intelligence community assessment, echoed endlessly by  Western establishment media, undemocratic Dems, and most others in Washington.

Nor did he stress that US hostility toward Russia is longstanding, going way beyond false accusations of election meddling. 

Washington and its Western partners falsely accused the Kremlin of an array of offenses it had nothing to do with — including nonexistent aggression in Ukraine, MH 17's downing, the Skripal incident, and much more.

All of the above plus Russia's intervention in Syria to combat US-backed terrorists, its support for Iranian and Venezuelan sovereignty, its opposition to Washington's imperial agenda, and promotion of multi-world polarity are why irreconcilable differences separate both countries on these and other major world issues. 

The US considers Russia an existential threat to its longstanding aim for unchallenged global dominance. Bilateral relations are more dismal than any time in modern memory. 

Nothing in prospect suggests improvement. Talks on Tuesday  with hardline extremist Pompeo by Putin and Lavrov accomplished nothing to improve things, just the illusion of possible change for the better.

Russia seeks world peace and stability. The US wages endless wars of aggression and other hostile actions against nations it wants transformed into client states.

The Kremlin seeks mutual cooperation with other nations and multi-world polarity. The US aims for dominion over planet earth, its resources and populations — by brute force if pressure, bullying, intimidation, and/or bribes don't work.

Moscow opposes US wars of aggression, the imperial scourge cutting to the heart of its geopolitical agenda, what it has no intention of changing — the Russian Federation, China, Iran, and Venezuela prime targets for regime change.

Pompeo warned against Russian interference in the US 2020 elections — knowing claims about 2016 election meddling were and remain bald-faced Big Lies.

Since first made by the US intelligence community in 2016, not a shred of evidence supports the accusation because there is none. Claims without credible hard facts backing them are baseless.

Election meddling is a US specialty, not how the Russian Federation operates. What Pompeo knows well he didn't explain — instead saying Russian interference in the US 2020 elections "would put our relationship in an even worse place than it has been."

It can't get much worse than already — unless US forces attack Russia. What's unthinkable is possible, maybe inevitable. The same thing goes for China.

The risk of war between the world's dominant nuclear powers is reason enough for their authorities to step back from the brink.

Neither Russia or China wants war with the US or any other nations. If aggressively attacked, they're prepared to defend themselves with overwhelming force.

Russian super-weapons exceed the Pentagon's best, developed at a small fraction of the cost. The US notoriously pours countless trillions of dollars down a black hole of waste, fraud and abuse, feeding its military, industrial, security complex at the expense of vital homeland needs gone begging and world peace.

Pompeo and Bolton are militantly hostile toward Russia, accusing the Kremlin of "malign ends," Pompeo earlier saying Moscow doesn't "have the values of freedom and liberty, of the rule of law that we do, and they're using their energy to destroy ours."

He lied claiming Russia's  Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project aims to exert "leverage over Europe." 

He threatened to cut off Britain's access to US intelligence if it grants Chinese tech giant Huawei access to its 5G network, falsely claiming it'll help Beijing spy on nations doing business with the firm.

He said "Donald Trump had been sent by God to save Israel from Tehran's mullahs." 

Bolton earlier called Vladimir Putin a liar, saying "Trump got to experience Putin looking him in the eyes and lying to him, denying Russian interference in the (2016) election," adding:

Russia "attempt(s) to undermine America's Constitution…a casus belli, a true act of war…(I)t should be a fire-bell-in-the-night warning about the value Moscow places on honesty, whether regarding election interference, nuclear proliferation, arms control or the Middle East: negotiate with today's Russia at your peril."

The above remarks and many similar ones show the Trump regime and Russia remain world's apart on major geopolitical issues — notably on Syria, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, and Ukraine, Pompeo saying in Sochi:

"We're looking for Iran to behave like a normal country," falsely accusing the country of state terrorism, assassinations, and developing offensive weapons for war, adding:

The Trump regime doesn't "seek war with Iran," but will respond "appropriately" to any Iranian actions that interfere with US regional interests.

All of the above are how the US operates, not the Islamic Republic, promoting regional peace and stability, seeking normalized relations with other countries.

On Venezuela, Pompeo demanded that Russia not interfere in the nation's political situation, adding: 

"The time has come for Nicolas Maduro to go (sic). He has brought nothing but misery to the Venezuelan people (sic), and we hope that Russian support for Maduro will end (sic)."

As he said many times before, Lavrov stressed that Venezuelans (and people of all nations) alone should decide who'll lead them — free from foreign interference, adding:

"The threats that we hear against the Maduro government, threats that come from the mouths of US officials…this has nothing in common with democracy."

On Ukraine, Pompeo said the Trump regime won't recognize Crimea as Russian territory — even though its people voted overwhelmingly by national referendum to join the Russian Federation, wanting a historic mistake corrected, Putin accommodating their wishes legally.

Pompeo stressed that US sanctions on Russia won't be eased — over numerous irreconcilable differences between both countries.

He was less than candid, saying the Trump regime "stands ready to find common ground" with Russia.

Actions by him, John Bolton, the vast majority of congressional members, and supportive media have been polar opposite — no evidence showing the US wishes to turn a page for improved bilateral relations.

Geopolitical differences between both countries are too divergent to reconcile on most issues. Putin and Lavrov believing otherwise is wishful thinking.

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