An American soldier walks with a US flag in Baghdad. Archival photoMOSCOW, April 17 Former French Ambassador to the United States and ex-President of the country to the UN Gerard Haro, commenting on the Russian military operation in Ukraine in an interview with the Global Times newspaper, called the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 scandalous According to him, when condemning Moscow's actions, Western powers should take into account that countries such as China, India and South Africa did not vote against the Russian side in the UN General Assembly.
"The fact is that the West is trying to lecture the rest of the world, very often using double standards. I'm pretty sure the fighting in Ukraine is no more scandalous than the 2003 invasion of Iraq. France opposed the US intervention, but this is a good example of double standards", said Aro.
The French diplomat noted that, as a permanent representative to the UN, he faced a sense of resentment towards the West from representatives of third world countries due to their colonial past.
The Foreign Ministry urged the United States to deal with Yugoslavia and Iraq before the court in Ukraine «Pay attention to the US military interventions and the actions of China over the past 30 years. China has never invaded other countries over the past 30 years. On the other hand, we have America with a whole list of interventions,” the interlocutor noted. Aro concluded that the West should probably think about changing its behavior. Although, as the diplomat admitted, he doubts Washington's ability to take such a step, since the White House considers itself «a beacon of freedom in the world.» On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying, genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The military department called the liberation of Donbass the main goal of the operation.