Ron Paul is once again speaking up about the situation in Crimea, and this time the former congressman is condemning critics from his own country who are seemingly obsessed with the recent secession.

The former Republican representative for Texas told RT earlier this month that he didn’t think the  United States had any business meddling in overseas affairs and  that worsening tensions in Ukraine should be resolved only by  those directly involved. The citizens of Crimea have since  approved a referendum to separate from Ukraine, but both the US  and European Union responded with sanctions against certain  officials from Russia and the former Ukrainian government as a  result.

In an op-ed published by USA Today on Monday, Paul asked:   “What’s the big deal?”

“Opponents of the Crimea vote like to point to the illegality  of the referendum,” Paul wrote. “But self-determination  is a centerpiece of international law.”

“Article I of the United Nations Charter points out clearly  that the purpose of the UN is to ‘develop friendly relations  among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights  and self-determination of peoples,’” he said. “Why does  the US care which flag will be hoisted on a small piece of land  thousands of miles away?”

“Where were these people when an election held in an Iraq  occupied by US troops was called a ‘triumph of democracy’?”   he asked.

The former congressman’s remarks were published just hours after  the White House authorized a new wave of sanctions against Russia  and released a statement from US President Barack Obama in which  he warned that more could be ordered “if Russia continues to  interfere in Ukraine.”

But according to Paul, the US government has more or less ignored  recent efforts waged by the people of Scotland, Catalonia and  Venice to secede, and instead had opted only to focus on the  Crimean conflict which, as a result, he says, “has led NATO  closer to conflict with Russia than since the height of the Cold  War.”

“Perhaps the US officials who supported the unconstitutional  overthrow of Ukraine’s government should refocus their energies  on learning our own Constitution, which does not allow the US  government to overthrow governments overseas or send a billion  dollars to bail out Ukraine and its international  creditors,” the former congressman wrote.

Speaking to RT only a few weeks earlier, Paul said that “this  idea that we are going to start bailing out Ukraine is total  nonsense” and that “the whole thing makes no  sense whatsoever from an economic viewpoint [or] from a political  viewpoint.” The US has since escalated efforts to assist the  interim Ukrainian government and at the same time attempt to  punish Moscow, however, and now Paul writes that “neither the  US nor the EU can afford significant sanctions against  Russia.”

“Global trade provides too much economic benefit to both  sides,” he wrote. “Indeed, international markets rallied  on news that the sanctions would be thus far minimal. They  understand that trade and economic engagement are the surest  roads to peace and prosperity. Let’s hope governments will follow  their lead.”

Published time: March 18, 2014

Crimea’s secession from Ukraine was just like Kosovo’s secession from Serbia, and any arguments otherwise are just attempts to bend the West-advocated rules that were applied to the Kosovo case, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

The statements came as Putin was addressing the Russian   parliament to convince lawmakers to ratify a treaty, which would   make Crimea part of the Russian Federation.

In the speech he challenged Washington’s position, which says   that Kosovo was a unique case and could not justify any other   move towards independence in the world.

“Our western partners created the Kosovo precedent with their   own hands. In a situation absolutely the same as the one in   Crimea they recognized Kosovo’s secession from Serbia legitimate   while arguing that no permission from a country’s central   authority for a unilateral declaration of independence is   necessary,” Putin reminded, adding that the UN International   Court of Justice agreed to those arguments.

“That’s what they wrote, that what they trumpeted all over   the world, coerced everyone into it – and now they are   complaining. Why is that?” he asked.

Putin dismissed the argument that Kosovo was unique due to the   large number of victims during the Balkan wars and the   dissolution of Yugoslavia.

“It’s beyond double standards,” Putin said. “It’s a   kind of baffling, primitive and blatant cynicism. One can’t just   twist things to fit his interests, to call something white on one   day and black on the next one.”

The president dismissed the allegations that Russia is violating   international law with its actions in Ukraine.

“Well’ it’s good that they at least recalled that there is   international law. Thank you very much. Better late than   never,” Putin said adding that in fact nothing of this kind   happened.

‘In Ukraine the West crossed the red line’

In fact, it was Russia that defended international law and its   institutions, while western countries have been diminishing them.   The situation in Crimea is just a reflection of this broader   process, which has been happening for decades now.

“In the practical application of policies, our western   partners – the United States first and foremost – prefer to be   guided not by international law, but by the right of strength.   They believe in their exceptionalism, that they are allowed to   decide on the fate of the world, that they are always   right,” Putin charged.

This disregard to rule of law was evident in Yugoslavia in 1999,   when NATO bombed the country without a UN Security Council   mandate, the Russian president said. There was Afghanistan, Iraq   and the perversion of the UNSC resolution on Libya, when instead   of imposing a no-fly zone NATO bombed the country into   submission.

There were also orchestrated “colored revolutions” in Europe and   the Arab World, which cynically used the feelings of people tired   with corruption and poverty. The latest Ukrainian events are just   the latest of such actions, and Russia’s willingness to seek   dialogue and compromise was stonewalled again, Putin said.

“They were cheating us once more, took decisions behind our   back, presented us with a fait accompli,” he said, adding   that the patter is identical to that which accompanied NATO’s   expansion to the east, the deployment of an anti-ballistic   missile system, visa restrictions and numerous other issues.

“They are constantly trying to corner us in retaliation for   our having an independent position, for defending it, for calling   things by their names and not being hypocritical,” Putin   accused. “Everything has its limits, and in Ukraine our   western partners crossed the red line. They acted brutally,   irresponsibly and unprofessionally.”

Putin said the West must stop being hysterical, restrain from the   Cold War rhetoric and admit the obvious: “Russia is an   independent and active participant of international relations.   Just like any nation it has national interests that must be taken   into consideration and respected.”

As for the Ukrainian red line, the coup-imposed authorities in   Kiev voiced their desire to join NATO, and such a move would pose   an imminent threat to Russia, Putin said.

“We stand against having a military organization meddling in   our backyard, next to our homeland or in the territories that are   historically ours. I just cannot imagine visiting NATO sailors in   Sevastopol,” he stressed. “Most of them are fine lads,   by the way. But rather let them visit us in Sevastopol than the   other way around.”

At the end of his speech, Putin announced the submission to parliament of a   draft federal law which would incorporate Crimea and the City of   Sevastopol into Russian territory, as well as a request to ratify   an international treaty with the government of Crimea to make   this happen. He said he was sure of the legislature’s support for   both documents.