WASHINGTON, June 5 (RIA Novosti), Lyudmila Chernova – Kiev doesn’t have a case against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), James Petras, a professor of sociology at Binghamton told RIA Novosti Thursday.
“The regime that protested was illegal by any measure, as it came to power through a violent push and installed a regime that was not recognized by a good percentage of the population as a usurpation. I think that’s the first issue that has to be taken into account,” he said.
The policies that the interim Kiev authorities initially pursued, particularly their outlawing of the Russian language, were a break from the constitutional norm, the political analyst added.
“I think the attempt to impose a uniform cultural pattern was an act of aggression against the Russian speaking population in Crimea,” he said.
The expert stressed that according to international law, Russia had a right to defend the Russian-speaking population of Crimea.
“The US has a standard policy for almost 200 years of intervening when its citizens are in danger. And I think this is a clear case of that,” he said.
To this end, Petras said he did not believe the ECHR ruling will have much of an impact.
“There will be a symbolic outcome. It will serve as a propaganda tool for the western media and governments to try to chastise Russia and to use it as part of its campaign to demonize the Russian government,” he explained.
“What I think will result from this is the international court will discredit itself if it does take a decision favorable to the plaintiffs,” Petras concluded.
Kiev filed two lawsuits against Russia with the ECHR in Strasbourg: Crimea's annexation and Russia's liability to Ukraine.
