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Monday, February 28, 2022
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s two days long march compelled puppet to slightly reduce PoL prices, says Bilawal House spokesman demanding Imran Khan to step down before long march reaches Islamabad
چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرادری کی قیادت میں ہونے والےعوامی مارچ کا دوسرے روز بھی ہر شہر ہر قصبے میں پرتپاک استقبال
چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا عوامی مارچ پیر کے روز صبح بدین سے روانہ ہوا۔ بدین سے لے کر حیدرآباد تک ہر چھوٹے چھوٹے قصبوں میں عوام نے بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا شاندار استقبال کیا۔
چیئرمین پیپلزپارٹی کا کارواں ٹنڈو محمد خان سے جب حیدرآباد پہنچا تو ہزاروں کی تعداد میں جیالوں نے ان کا شاندار استقبال کیا۔ فتح چوک، بھٹائی کالونی، جیل چورنگی کے علاقوں میں پیپلزپارٹی کے کارکن اور شہری ان کی ایک جھلک دیکھنے کے لئے ہزاروں کی تعداد میں موجود تھے۔ حیدرآباد میں ایک جیالے نے اپنی جان کی پرواہ کئے بغیر بجلی کے کھمبے کو جھولا بنا دیا۔ وہ جھولے پر جھولتے بھی رہے اور نعرے بھی لگاتے Aرہے تاکہ چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کی توجہ ان کی طرف جائے۔
بعد ازاں پارٹی عہدیداروں اور کارکنوں کے اسرار پر جیالا بجلی کے کھمبے سے بخیریت اتر آیا۔ چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری حیدرآباد کے بعد مٹیاری پہنچے تو جگہ جگہ پر ان پر گل پاشی کی گئی۔ مقامی لوگوں نے عوامی مارچ کی سہولیات کے لئے جگہ جگہ ٹھنڈے پانی کا انتظام کر رکھا تھا۔
چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری مٹیاری کے بعد کھنڈو، خیبر، بھٹ شاہ، سعیدآباد، سکرنڈ کے بعد بینظیرآباد ضلع کے قاضی احمد پہنچے۔ راستے میں ہر جگہ پر چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا شاندار استقبال کیا گیا اور صبح سے ہزاروں لوگ ان کی ایک جھلک دیکھنے کے لئے بیقرار نظر آئے۔
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26400/
Sunday, February 27, 2022
#AwamiMarch - ادارے نیوٹرل رہیں تو عمران خان کو شکست ہوگی، حزب اختلاف
حزب اختلاف کے رہنماؤں کا کہنا ہے کہ ادارے نیوٹرل رہیں تو عمران خان کو شکست ہوگی۔
پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ن) کے صدر و قائد حزب اختلاف محمد شہباز شریف نے کہا ہے کہ تحریک عدم اعتماد پر مکمل اتفاق اور یکسوئی ہے، پوری تیاری کے ساتھ میدان میں آئینگے، نااہل حکمرانوں کا جانا ناگزیر ہوچکا،کوئی ولی نہیں عدم اعتماد کی تاریخ بتادوں۔
پاکستان کے عوام ہاتھ اٹھا کر دعائیں کررہے ہیں کب بدترین فاشسٹ نااہل حکومت سے جان چھوٹے گی، جبکہ پیپلزپارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا کہنا ہے کہ غیر جمہوریت حکومت جمہوری ہتھیار استعمال کرینگے، عمران خان استعفیٰ دیں تو مارچ اور عدم اعتماد کی ضرورت نہیں، کل کراچی سے اسلام آباد کی طرف مارچ کرینگے۔
بلوچستان نیشنل پارٹی اختر مینگل نے کہا بلوچستان سے زیادتی کی وجہ سے حالات خراب ہوئے ،اب تو تبدیلی کے نام سے چڑ ہوگئی۔ تفصیلات کے مطابق شہباز شریف سے بلوچستان نیشنل پارٹی کے سربراہ سردار اختر مینگل نے انکی رہائشگاہ پر ملاقات کی۔
دونوں رہنمائوں نے مہنگائی، بیروزگاری، موجودہ معاشی صورتحال اور دیگر عوامی مسائل پر بات چیت کی ۔ اس موقع پر تحریک عدم اعتماد کے حوالے سے اپوزیشن کی مستقبل کی حکمت عملی سے متعلق بھی تبادلہ خیال کیا گیا ۔
بعدازاں بلوچستان نیشنل پارٹی کے سر براہ سردار اختر مینگل کے ہمراہ میڈیا سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے شہباز شریف نے کہا کہ اسوقت ملک کے معاشی حالات و سیاسی حالات انتہائی خطرناک صورتحال اختیار کر چکے ہیں،(ن) لیگ اور بی این پی مینگل پی ڈی ایم کا حصہ ہیں اسلئے عدم اعتماد پر جو اصولی فیصلہ ہے اس ہوم ورک پر گفتگو کی۔
عدم اعتماد پر مکمل اتفاق ہے جب بھی تیار ہونگے تو عوام کی خواہشات کو مد نظر رکھتے ہوئے اس بدترین حکومت سے چھٹکارا حاصل کرنے کیلئے فیصلہ کرینگے، ملک میں مہنگائی اوربیروزگاری نے ڈیرے ڈال رکھے ہیں، کرپشن عام ہے، عوام اس حکومت میں بد حال ہو چکے ہیں۔ انہوںنے کہا کہ کوئی ولی نہیں عدم اعتماد کی تاریخ بتا دوں، لیکن تحریک عدم اعتماد پر مکمل اتفاق اور یکسوئی ہے، پوری تیاری کے ساتھ میدان میں آئینگے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ آج پاکستان کے عوام ہاتھ اٹھا کر دعا کررہے ہیں کب بدترین فاشسٹ نااہل حکومت سے جان چھوٹے گی،لوگ دعائیں کررہے ہیں، مہنگائی سے کب جان چھوٹے گی، بائیس کروڑ عوام نے حکومت جانے کا سگنل دیدیا ہے۔
سردار اختر مینگل نے کہا کہ ہم پی ڈی ایم کا حصہ ہیں جو فیصلے ہوئے اس پر اتفاق رائے کیا ہے، عدم اعتماد پر ہوم ورک مکمل کرکے عملی جامہ پہنایا جائیگا۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ بلوچستان کا مسئلہ سیاست سے حل ہوگا ،عسکری توپوں سے مسائل حل نہیں ہونگے، متفق ہیں بلوچستان کے مسئلے کو سیاسی طورپر حل کیاجائے، بلوچستان میں لا پتہ افراد ہزاروں کی تعداد میں ہیں انہیں رہا کیاجائے۔
دریں اثناء بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ ہمارا احتجاج ایک غیرجمہوری حکومت پر جمہوری حملہ ہے، اس غیر جمہوری حکومت کو ہٹانےکیلئے عدم اعتماد لانا چاہیے، پی ٹی آئی ایم ایف کو ہم پہلے دن سے نہیں مانتے۔
ہم پہلے دن سے اس حکومت کیخلاف احتجاج کررہے ہیں۔ پی ٹی آئی آئی ایم ایف کا بوجھ عام آدمی اٹھارہا ہے، ہم چاہتے ہیں کہ پاکستان اس آئی ایم ایف ڈیل سے نکلے اور نئی ڈیل کرے، ایسی ڈیل لائی جائے جو پاکستان کے مفاد میں ہو۔ وہ ہفتے کو بلاول ہاؤس کراچی میں پریس کانفرنس سے خطاب کررہے تھے ۔
اس موقع پر وزیراعلی سندھ سید مراد علی شاہ، شیری رحمان،رضاربانی،فیصل کریم کنڈی، شازیہ مری اور ناصرحسین شاہ بھی موجود تھے ۔ بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ عوام کے معاشی حقوق پر ڈاکے ڈالے گئے ہیں۔
#AwamiMarch #Badin 💘- Bilawal fires fresh salvo at PM Imran as PPP's long march to Islamabad begins
People compelled to send Imran home because "incapable, incompetent selected" has robbed them, says Bilawal
Chairperson Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday addressed a huge, charged crowd in Karachi at the start of the PPP’s Awami Long March against the incumbent government.
During his address, Bilawal remarked that the people of Karachi had gathered at the Quaid-e-Azam mausoleum to “send the selected, illegitimate and incapable [government] home.”
Bilawal raising the slogan of "go selected go", said that Karachi is a city where people came from every province and that the economy of the country ran with their sweat and blood.
“The people have been compelled to send Imran Khan home because this illegitimate, incapable and incompetent selected have robbed the people of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [K-P] of their rights,” he claimed, adding that the PTI government had robbed the people of their votes, pockets and livelihoods.
Read Bilawal throws weight behind fresh polls
He emphasised that the entire opposition had decided to send Prime Minister Imran Khan home and that the jiyalas (supporters) of the PPP were at the forefront of this movement.
“No power can stop these jiyalas,” he said.
Bilawal further said that the Quaid-e-Azam had promised that the country will be a parliamentary democracy but the incumbent government had “attacked our democracy, our economy and human rights”.
“We will complete the mission of Quaid-e-Azam and Shaheed mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, and defend the 1973 constitution, the rights of the people and the economy of this country,” he stated.
Bilawal claimed that "the PPP had always defended the rights of the people, increased salaries and pensions, and given rights to the provinces and made them the owner of their own resources."
He alleged that the “puppet” Imran Khan wanted to dismantle the 18th amendment and NFC award.
“Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah is trying to serve the people of the city of Karachi and this province despite the fact that the puppet government of Imran Khan does not provide the due share from NFC to provinces,” Bilawal said.
He maintained that the ruling party has made Pakistan one of the most corrupt countries in the world, adding that Transparency International had declared the PTI government as the "most corrupt government in history".
The PPP chairperson said that the "awami" government will provide resources to the provinces and hence, all cities will get their due share.
Read More Opposition divided over no-trust move, claims Rashid
He said that it was impossible to achieve anything until “this puppet” was in the government and the PTI-IMF deal was in place.
“The time has come to bring the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan and send him home. Now with this march, cries will be heard from Bani Gala,” he said.
According to Bilawal, the PPP will put the demands of the people of every city on the way to Islamabad during this long march.
“We will attack this government after reaching Islamabad,” he said.
Prior to Bilawal, PPP leaders Murtaza Wahab, Raza Rabbani, Murad Ali Shah, Nisar Khoro and Qamar Zaman Kaira also addressed the people.
Long march route
The march began from Mazar-e-Quaid on February 27 (today) at 10 am and the protesters will reach Badin where they will spend the night. The protesters will resume their journey on February 28 passing through Hyderabad, Hala and Nawabshah and end its second day at Moro.
Marchers will reach Khairpur city on March 1 and end their third day in Sukkur. The long march will then continue from Sukkur on March 2 from where the protesters will reach Rahim Yar Khan.
On March 3, the PPP convoy from Rahim Yar Khan, passing through Bahawalpur and Lodhran will end its fifth day with a large public gathering in Multan.
چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری کی قیادت میں مزار قائد سے شروع ہونے والے عوامی مارچ میں ہزاروں کی تعداد میں گاڑیاں اور موٹر سائیکلیں شامل، جلوس کئی کلومیٹر تک طویل
چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری کی قیادت میں مزار قائد سے شروع ہونے والے عوامی مارچ میں ہزاروں کی تعداد میں گاڑیاں اور موٹر سائیکلیں شامل تھیں اور جلوس کئی کلومیٹر تک طویل تھا۔ شاہراہ فیصل، ناتھا خان، سٹارگیٹ، ملیر ہالٹ، ملیر15قائدآباد، شاہ لطیف ٹاﺅن، بھینس کالونی موڑ، رزاق آباد ، اسٹیل ملز، گلشن حدید میں عوام کی بڑی تعداد نے ان کا استقبال کیا۔ عوامی مارچ جیسے ہی ملیر میں داخل ہوا تو سڑک کے دونوں کناروں پر عوام کی بڑی تعداد نے ان کا والہانہ استقبال کیا جبکہ عمارتوں پر کھڑی خواتین اور بچوں نے ان پر پھول نچھاور کئے۔
کراچی کے بعد چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری جیسے ٹھٹھہ میں داخل ہوئے تو گھگھر پھاٹک، ڈھابے جی، گھارو، گجو، مکلی سے ٹھٹھہ تک عوام کا سمندر امڈ آیا۔ خواتین روایتی رقص اور جھومر ڈال کر چیئرمین پیپلز پارٹی کی آمد پر خوشی کا اظہار کر رہی تھیں۔ سجاول میں بھی چیئرمین پی پی پی کا شہریوں کی طرف سے تاریخی استقبال کیا گیا اور خواتین کی بڑی تعداد نے شہر کی مرکزی شاہراہ پر ان کا خطاب سنا۔ میرپور بٹھورو، جاتی، دوڑ، ٹھارو شاہ، شاہ بندر اور دیگر قصبوں سے آئے ہوئے جیالے اور شہری صبح سے سجاول شہر میں اپنے چیئرمین کے استقبال کے لئے موجود تھے۔
ٹھٹھہ شہر پیپلزپارٹی کے پرچموں، تصویروں اور بینروں سے سجایا گیا تھا۔ چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کے مارچ کا اندازہ اس بات سے کیا جاسکتا ہے کہ تقریباً سات کلومیٹر تک ان کے جلوس کی گاڑیاںتھیں۔
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26374/
Saturday, February 26, 2022
#China - About the Uygurs’ situation in Xinjiang: a legal point of view
By Norbert Rouland
Following the defeat of the United States in Afghanistan, it is appropriate for China to ensure a certain degree of stability in the region of Central Asia. China wishes to ascertain a return to political stability and the promotion of economic development in the region. This requires fighting against terrorism, separatism, and extremism.As President Xi Jinping has stressed in several of his speeches, no civilization is superior to another. But terrorism is contrary to human civilization and human rights. China is being subject to the dangers and tensions that exist in Central Asia. The "three demons" of terrorism, separatism and religious extremism are considered to be the three greatest threats to China.
So then, how is the Chinese government's policy in Xinjiang to be judged from a legal point of view? What opinion can a European jurist like me give? Can we legally speak of “genocide” with regard to the Uygurs?
Two official documents define “genocide,” namely the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 9, 1948; and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted in 1998. Article 2 of the Convention and Article 6 of the Rome Statute define the crime of genocide as follows:
Namely, “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
a) Killing members of the group;
b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcible transfer of children from the group to another group.
It is obvious that China does not intend to destroy all or part of the Uygur population. Attacks committed by the terrorists can't be tolerated. China just wants to put the Uygur people out of harm's way. This action cannot be called genocide. Every State resorts to public force to ensure social order and to protect its population against the perpetrators of criminal offences.
It should be noted that in the Muslim world, there is very little criticism of the policy conducted by the Chinese government regarding the Uygurs. There are no associated demonstrations or protests among the populations in the 57 Muslim countries of the world. This has never existed. For example, Saudi Arabia does not criticize the Chinese government.
Let us recall what the United States, which criticizes China, did after the 9/11 attacks. They invaded Afghanistan and led coalitions to invade several countries in the Middle East. They sent those they presumed to be terrorists without undergoing any form of trial to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, where they underwent various tortures.
The author is a law professor at the University of Aix-Marseille, France.
http://en.people.cn/n3/2022/0223/c90000-9961740.html
#UkraineUnderAttack #UkraineRussia - Chinese, Russian presidents hold phone conversation on Friday
BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Friday held a phone conversation.
During the phone conversation, Xi thanked Putin again for coming to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and congratulated the Russian athletes on finishing second in the Winter Olympics medal table.
Putin extended warm congratulations to all the Chinese people for the complete success of the Beijing Winter Olympics and for the outstanding performance of the Chinese delegation.
The two sides mainly exchanged views on the current Ukrainian situation.
Putin introduced the historical context of the Ukraine issue as well as Russia's special military operation in eastern Ukraine and its position.
He said that the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have long ignored Russia's legitimate security concerns, repeatedly broken their commitments and continuously pushed their military deployment eastwards, which challenged Russia's strategic bottom line.
Russia is ready to hold high-level negotiation with Ukraine, said Putin.
Xi pointed out that recent dramatic changes in the situation in eastern Ukraine have drawn great attention from the international community, adding that China decides on its position based on the merits of the Ukrainian issue itself.
He called on dropping the Cold War mentality, attaching importance and respecting the legitimate security concerns of various countries and forming a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiation.
The Chinese side supports the Russian side in solving the issue through negotiation with the Ukrainian side, Xi said, adding that China has been consistent in its basic position on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
China is ready to work with members of the international community to embrace the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and firmly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, Xi said.
#UkraineUnderAttack #UkraineRussia - US Determination to Expand NATO Creates Unpredictable Situation, Cuban Foreign Ministry Says
The US persistence in pushing forward with NATO’s expansion eastward is leading to unpredictable consequences that could have been avoided, Cuba’s Foreign Ministry says.
The ministry added that the recent US and NATO deployments close to the Russian borders and the delivery of weapons to Kiev amount to a “progressive military encirclement.”
According to President Vladimir Putin, the proposals on European security were rejected offhand by Western partners, as NATO has been boosting defenses around Russia's borders despite a pledge given in the 1990s that the alliance would not “move an inch” eastward.
#Pakistan - #Balochistan: the foreign hand?
By Pervez Hoodbhoy
https://www.dawn.com/news/1677136/balochistan-the-foreign-hand
Russia to Riyadh — Imran Khan now has a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time
NAILA INAYAT
If you want to blame anyone for all this, blame US President Joe Biden. Had he called Khan like Putin did, it would’ve been a different story altogether.All was going well before it wasn’t. There was excitement and elation before there weren’t. That’s the thing about fantasy and reality. In your own la la land, you can be a mediator of superpowers or imagine yourself stopping a war or even drawing your own borders from Germany to Japan. But in reality, you might be welcomed by your host with a hostile invasion of his neighbor. What are the odds? Some were still in the process of celebrating the mammoth moment when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan set foot in Russia, that too in a black shalwar kameez. At that moment, nothing mattered beyond the handsomeness and breaking and setting of records— “first in two decades”, “game-changer”, “never before”. Never again. Everything became historic indeed when Russia began its war on Ukraine simultaneously on the same day. Exciting times On his arrival at the Moscow airport, PM Imran Khan was delighted at his timing. “So much excitement,” he said. That “excitement” increased manifold when the PM and his entourage were found in a war capital. When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started, many wondered if Khan would cut his visit short. Then came a one-on-one meeting with President Vladimir Putin, and this time a rather sombre-looking PM Khan posed for the cameras on a day when the entire world was condemning Russian for its actions. Exciting times to share the space with Putin?So much for Pakistan going bloc-free. The criticism is not that Pakistan shouldn’t pursue its relationship with Russia but given the escalating Ukrainian situation for months, Imran Khan was sleepwalking into a diplomatic embarrassment. The sarkari spin-masters argue: the prime minister was unaware that Putin would invade Ukraine on his arrival. Sure, let’s add this to a long list of things the ever-so-aware PM, who knows more about everything under the sky, didn’t know. If Ukraine was part of India, then probably he’d know. By the way, what are intelligence agencies for?
The prime minister and his team went with a lot of fanfare but returned rather quietly. Unlike the historic 2019 return from the United States when Khan felt he had won the 1992 World Cup all over again.Wrong time, wrong place Constantly, for one year now, we have been preached how Naya Pakistan doesn’t believe in blocs and camps anymore. No more fighting others’ wars, no more being used as a hired gun, and no more being asked to do more. But no one was buying this new-found national conscience. When the dollars dried from one side, it was time to pick another. This is, however, not the first time that PM Khan found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Back in 2018, after the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Khan travelled to be part of the Saudi investment conference in Riyadh at a time when major world leaders and organisations had boycotted the event. His viewpoint was that Pakistan cannot afford to snub Saudi Arabia over the murder of Khashoggi, talking about the dire need for loans at the time. In case of Russia, given the unfolding of events and economic sanctions, Pakistan scored no bilateral deal, let alone the much-talked-about gas pipeline project with Khan’s visit. The gas project is much like Khan’s gas dreams at home, where he hoped against hope that gas might be found while drilling off Pakistan’s shores and our 50 years of gas problems will be solved. But, of course, no reserves were discovered off Karachi coast. From Ukraine, Pakistan covered 60 per cent of its wheat imports last year, but there is fear of food inflation in the aftermath of the conflict. Brace yourself for the next 100 days of speeches— you’ll probably be told that Russia and Ukraine are responsible for food inflation. Cheerleaders on steroids Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Russia visit has led to a ‘with us or against us’ debate between supporters and critics. Emotions are running high on what is the best way to deal with Russia at this time. The cons of the visit have been highlighted — Putin used Khan and made most of this opportunity to embarrass Pakistan; “In foreign affairs, hum [Pakistan] mamoo ban gaye” (We were made a fool); “Russia settled decades-old score with Pakistan by invading Ukraine on the day it invited Imran Khan. Putin showed a finger to Khan.” Then there have been those who left no stone unturned to praise Putin, going as far as invoking Quranic interpretations to describe the future acts of the Russian president. Then in excitement of another level, it was declared “Ukraine mein dhamaka, Putin attacks Russia.” Wait, what? On steroids have been the YouTubers who declared that Putin meeting Khan with a small table between them was a signal to the world that Putin loves Khan and did not sit the Pakistan PM across a big table like Western visitors. No one told the sarkari cheerleaders that the four-metre table between others and Putin were placed when the Russian Covid test was refused by visiting leaders due to fears of DNA theft. But let’s hail small-table diplomacy for now. If you want to blame anyone for all of this, blame US President Joe Biden. Had he called Khan like Putin did thrice in as many months, it would have been a different story altogether. But lovers will tell haters that Biden is jealous and the purpose of the visit has been served. That’s the thing about living in fantasies. https://theprint.in/opinion/letter-from-pakistan/russia-to-riyadh-imran-khan-now-has-a-history-of-being-in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time/847515/
Ukraine crisis: Why Imran Khan's Russia trip will further isolate Pakistan
Friday, February 25, 2022
Obama calls on Americans to support sanctions against Russia despite 'economic consequences'
SUMMER MEZA
Former President Barack Obama was one of many prominent U.S. politicians to comment on Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, saying it "threatens the foundation of the international order" and offering his perspective on what Americans should do moving forward.
The former president first condemned Moscow's "brutal" attack, despairing at the death and destruction that would leave "untold numbers" of displaced Ukrainians.
He then called on Americans to denounce Russia's actions and put aside political differences to "support President Biden's efforts ... to impose hard hitting sanctions on Russia."
"There may be some economic consequences to such sanctions, given Russia's significant role in global energy markets," Obama continued. "But that's a price we should be willing to pay to take a stand on the side of freedom."
See his full statement below.