Eliot Engel, a United States congressman, declared that it would be wrong comparing Crimea with Kosovo.
In an interview for the Voice of America, Engel declared that Crimea is a different case because Kosovo had a population that needed salvation.
“In Kosovo we had a horrible case of Serbian oppression against the Albanian ethnic majority. The Serbian dictator, Slobodan Milosevic, attempted an ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and all cities of Albanian ethnicity, who were 95% of the population. We didn’t want to allow ethnic cleansing or genocide, and that’s why NATO, under the direction of President Bill Clinton, undertook a bombarding campaign for making Serbs leave Kosovo. This campaign was completed successfully and we saved many lives”, Engel declared.
Engel added that Kosovo’s case is similar to what is happening today in Syria.
“I would compare Kosovo with Syria. We have a civilian population that is in danger. It is horrible that the international community is turning their back to Syria”, the congressman underlined.
As regards Crimea, Engel declared that President Vladimir Putin is being aggressive and is trying to annex land from another country under the pretext that the Russian speaking majority needs to be free or that they are having their rights violated. This is a lie. Mr.Putin must be careful, because Russia has several troubled regions, such as Chechnya, who want to be independent. If this starts, we don’t know when it might end”, Engel declared.
Top Channel
