The US is urging its citizens to leave Russia immediately
US-Russia relationship
The US has advised its citizens to leave Russia due to the war in Ukraine and the risk of arrest or harassment.
The US embassy in a statement issued recently urged its citizens to leave or not to travel to Russia to take enhanced precautions to avoid the risk of wrongful arrest and detention.
The embassy alleged that “Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on spurious charges, singled out U.S. citizens in Russia for detention and harassment, denied them fair and transparent treatment, and convicted them in secret trials or without presenting credible evidence.”
Being a communist country Russia does not believe in the right of freedom of religion hence US embassy claimed that “Russian authorities arbitrarily enforce local laws against U.S. citizen religious workers and have opened questionable criminal investigations against U.S. citizens engaged in religious activity.”
However, Kremlin responded by referring to the US’s call to leave as normal which has been earlier as well when Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of its forces.
The US Federal Security Service claimed that in January prosecutors had opened a criminal case against a United States citizen on suspicion of espionage. Last December, U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was released in a prisoner swap, having been sentenced to nine years in a penal colony for possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil – which is banned in Russia – after a judicial process labeled a sham by Washington.
Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian penal colony after being convicted of espionage charges that Washington also says are a sham.
The Russia-Ukraine war has reached a stage of conflict where neither of the parties is neglecting to budge. West-supported Ukraine has given a fitting response to the Russian plan of annexing Ukraine within days leave months.
Ukraine has now become the battlefield for the two ideological blocks among whom skirmishes erupted and tensions continued after the 2nd World War itself, the cost of which has been paid by the developing countries, and this time the victim became Ukraine. The tipping ground for Russia was its acceptance of Ukraine the offer of joining NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation).
Russia always wanted to keep a buffer zone in the form of Ukraine between NATO and Russia, which the latter considered necessary to maintain its territorial integrity. The Annexation of Crimea in 2014 was also been made to exert its regional supremacy and gain naval strength by claiming access to the Black Sea whenever requires.
But the local protest against the Russian annexation of Crimea and the gaining the power of the pro-west leader in Ukraine Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky gave a brewing ground for the conflict to rise, which the Western powers especially the USA, were always ready to capitalize on. The outcome of this, is a prolonged environment of war, violations of human rights, mass exodus, and uncountable killings.
The only solution left for these two countries is to come to the table for negotiations that can give some time to the human rights groups to extend aid and assistance to the affected population who are in dire need of such help. Looking for a short-term solution is the need of the hour as the whole world is experiencing the heat of a limited supply of goods especially wheat, coal, and oil from the warring countries.
However, the long-term relief to both of them can only be figured out when the interest of both countries is taken into account without any outside influence. Asian countries need to understand that their conflicts are only benefitting the other continents as the trade moves away from them and is being enjoyed by the other western powers.
The best example of this can be taken from the increasing conflict in the Middle East that resulted in the declining sales of crude oil from this region and contrast the USA emerged as a leading supplier of crude as for itself it developed an alternative fuel in the form of shale gas.
