U.S. Congressman points to double standards over Transdniestria, Kosovo
U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman criticizes Washington's double standards on how Transdniestria is treated differently from Kosovo
(Tiraspol Times) Monday, November 05, 2007
Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman believes that the U.S. administration is responsible for double standards in the way that Transdniestria and Kosovo are treated.
" - We support territorial integrity in relation to Transdniestria in Moldova and Abkhazia in Georgia, but we stand for self-determination of Kosovo in Serbia. Some might say we are inexplicably inconsistent, but I would say we are very consistent: we take anti-Russia position in all these three conflicts. The U.S. deprives Russia of a right to have any legitimate interests outside its own territory, even in its ethnically-similar former republics," said the congressman during hearings at the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs this week.
" - We reflexively take anti-Russia position," the congressman said while mentioning the policy of double standards professed by Washington. He believes it is mostly due to the fact that "the majority of US foreign policy establishment formed in the Soviet era, when they dealt with developing a strategy to surround, weaken, and humiliate Russia."
" - We lecture the former Communists in Moscow that it is unlawful or at least bad to sell their natural gas demanding the market price for it," he also said, wondering why the U.S. is trying to impose on Russia a pattern for building its relations with neighbor states.
Brad Sherman, a specialist in international law and foreign policy, is a graduate of Harvard Law School, J.D. Magna Cum Laude. He is married to Lisa Nicola Kaplan, a foreign affairs officer at the U.S. State Department.
Republican support
During the hearings, not just Democrats stood up for fairness and a decent treatment of Russia. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican, also spoke in defense of
Moscow: "Russians have all grounds to be displeased with the U.S. and our actions ever since the fall of communism," he said. Giving an example, he mentioned the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a foreign trade restriction against Russia. The amendment is still in force and it hurts Russia's trade with the United States, even at a time when the U.S. lifted all foreign trade restrictions from China.
" - There are no opposition parties in China, no protest rallies on the streets, no freedom of religion, and they are among the major violators of human rights. Nonetheless, we grant them the most favorable trade terms," said Rohrabacher. "But do not relieve Russia of Jackson-Vanik, although Russians work much better than Chinese in all those spheres," he added while wondering of the obvious double standards.
Transdniestria, with more than 550,000 people, is seeking international recognition of its "de facto" independence. The United States is formally opposed to a free and sovereign Transdniestria, and has repeatedly said that the unrecognized country should be ruled by neighboring Moldova despite a lack of any historical or ethnic connections, and against the will of the vast majority of its 550,000 inhabitants who prefer independence and self-determination. (With information from Kommersant)
