The commander of the land forces of the USA in the European Union, Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges in conversation said the Ukrainian crisis and the punishment relative to Russia. According to the General, the Western Commonwealth expects a return to cooperation with Russia.

"I think we all wish the return of Russia to the international community. Russia plays an important role in many areas, " said Hodges.

However, According to the General, the West considers Russia's actions regarding Ukraine as a violation of international law. First General Ben Hodges called the Russian Federation "the main threat" in the U.S. and Europe and tried to persuade NATO countries to confront her.

Kiev's main square - Maidan Nezalezhnosti - was occupied by supporters of European integration on November 21, 2013, immediately after the announcement of the government of Mykola Azarov about temporary suspension of the signing of the Treaty on the Union with the EU. Later, the Maidan became the epicenter of the confrontation between the security forces and radicals. The clashes, during which many radicals repeatedly used firearms and " Molotov cocktails ", were dozens of casualties. Against this background, at the end of February 2014 in Ukraine there was a coup.

in April of last year the Ukrainian authorities began in the Donbass military operation against dissatisfied with the coup d'etat of residents of the region. According to the summary data of the UN, the victims of the conflict began more than 6, 8 thousand people. The settlement of the situation in the Donbass is discussed, as well as among them, during meetings in Minsk contact group, which since September of last year already took 3 of the document governing the steps to de-escalate the conflict.

sections: Politics