WASHINGTON, July 11. /TASS/. The United States is doing everything it can to prepare public opinion for the approval of any anti-Russian decisions that may be taken at the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, according to Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov.
"On the eve of the NATO Summit, the atmosphere in the U.S. information landscape has heated up to the limit. Every possible effort is being made to prepare local public opinion for the acceptation of any anti-Russian decisions that will be taken in Vilnius in the coming days. The situation continues to degrade to the most unfavorable outcome of the confrontation between Russia and the NATO countries. The decisions of the West are posing increasingly insurmountable obstacles to a way out of the acutest political and military crisis, fraught with the most serious consequences for international security," he said.
Antonov also drew attention to double standards and the cynicism of the US administration's approach to the conflict in Ukraine.
"The Administration keeps on surprising the world with new examples of double standards on a daily basis. They are abundant. The more Americans are getting involved into the conflict in Ukraine, the more cynical their actions appear and the more dilapidated moral principles look. For many years the U.S. was demonstrating indifference to what was happening in Donbass. It turned a blind eye to the killings of people in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa. It imposed sanctions for Russia’s non-existent transgressions. It publicly advocated high human rights standards and ranted about banning inhumane weapons. Now the United States itself is throwing cluster munitions into the abyss of the Ukrainian crisis. At the same time, it does not bother making any excuses. The only thesis the U.S. is pushing is that it is necessary to defeat Russians," he added.
On July 7, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the United States had decided to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite the fact that the United Nations opposed the use of such munitions. He also said that Kiev had issued written assurances to Washington that those weapons would be used in a way so as to minimize risks to civilians. Pentagon Spokesman Patrick Ryder said on Thursday that the United States was poised to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions that posed the least risk to civilians.
Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Farhan Haq said earlier, commenting on media reports about the US’ plans to supply such munitions to Ukraine, that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres supports the Convention on Cluster Munitions and is against the use of such weapons on the battlefield.