Prystaiko dubs Russia to be terrorist state ahead of Normandy talks

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko dubbed
Russia to be a terrorist state in his Dec. 4 remarks at a NATO conference in
London. Responding to a question about the biggest threats facing NATO, and
French President Emmanuel Macron saying terrorism was the alliance’s biggest
threat, Prystaiko said, “When you asked about what is terrorism or Russia, I
don’t actually feel the difference,” as reported by the army-technology.com
news site. “Terrorist by default is someone who is exerting violence to achieve
some political something. How can you tell that Russia is not doing the same?”

Russian President Putin “is killing people in Ukraine,
is threatening with biological and chemical weapons around Europe,”
Prystaiko continued. “For what? Just to waste some of the resources of weapons?
No, they are trying to achieve some political goals. So this is a terrorist on
a very high state level.” He added that the West repeats the same mistake with
Russia, which is trying to reach agreements based on trust rather than force.
Prystaiko tweeted that day, “Engaged at NATO Engages in London about Russia
threat. Good exchange of thoughts. Had a problem, though, when asked what a
real threat for NATO is: Russia or terrorism. Gaining a political goal through
violence against civilians IS terrorism. Seems, it doesn’t make sense to
separate.”

Zenon Zawada: Most people
agree with Prystaiko’s positions, and support his boldness in declaring an
uncomfortable truth. But we question the wisdom of making such bold statements
just a few days before a meeting that will either make or break the Zelensky
presidency. Of course, the Russians were not planning to show any mercy to the
Ukrainians to begin with. But such comments put at risk even humanitarian
considerations, such as the all-for-all prisoner exchange that President
Zelensky told a Dec. 4 press conference that he wants to conduct by the year’s
end. The prisoner exchange this fall showed that some minimal good will is
possible to achieve, even with the Russians.

Another event that day that could trigger the Kremlin
was Ukrainian Security Service officers conducting searches of the offices of
the Storm security firm controlled by Viktor Medvedchuk, an MP who is Russian
President Putin’s righthand man in Ukraine. The firm is suspected of conducting
illegal wire-tapping and video surveillance, the pravda.com.ua news site
reported. If the goal of such actions is to demonstrate strength, it’s rather
ineffective in light of the Zelensky administration having spent months virtually boxing itself into a cornerwith its poorly contemplated positions on Donbas.