Russia's Foreign Affairs Committee Chief on Tuesday asked that President Barack Obama resist pressure from Congress to arm Ukrainian forces and, instead, stand by the anti-war principles that got him elected in the first place, or else risk directly provoking Russia.
On Monday, the U.S. House overwhelmingly approved a resolution urging Obama to send lethal weapons to Ukraine to aid in its fight against pro-Russian rebels. The non-binding resolution was approved 248 to 48.
But Russian Foreign Affairs Committee Chief Aleksey Pushkov told TASS on Tuesday that if Obama chooses to go through with arming Ukraine, "there will be no difference between him and George W. Bush, John McCain or Mitt Romney," reported RT.
"Obama has become president on an anti-war agenda. This did not prevent him from almost starting a war in Syria, losing the control over the situation in Iraq and continuing the war in Afghanistan, but in general Obama's doctrine means withdrawal of the US forces from wars in remote countries," Pushkov said.
"If Obama remains faithful to his doctrine, he should be genuine and understand that the resolution is a provocation against Russia, against a nuclear power and that it is threatening to escalate the whole conflict and the situation in general. If he remains faithful to the principles announced during election campaigns the United States would not use this option. But the pressure on Obama is enormous."
Others, like the head of the leftist Fair Russia, Mikhail Yemelyanov, said he doesn't believe that the U.S. is interested in a real de-escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
"The end of the Ukrainian conflict is simply against the US interests. This is why it seeks to arm Ukraine at any cost. If they really start to supply weapons to Ukraine I suggest two things - first, send weapons to the Donetsk paramilitaries and secondly to give our president the right to send Russian military to Ukraine," Yemelyanov said, according to RT.
Russia is widely believed to be arming the pro-Russian rebels who are fighting to overthrow the Ukrainian government, and there is strong bipartisan support in Congress to provide weapons to Ukrainian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin adamantly denies arming the rebels. According to the State Department, the Obama administration is considering providing lethal aid but is waiting to see whether the cease-fire agreement from February is successful, according to The Associated Press.
Many lawmakers believe that because Ukraine is unable to match the advanced equipment Russia is supposedly supplying the rebels, it's the U.S.'s responsibility to provide Ukraine weapons.
"The people of Ukraine are not looking for American troops," Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, according to The Hill. "They are just looking for the weapons to defense themselves. They don't have those weapons. We do. If we don't act now, who will?"
