The congressman said that the name of Nazi groups changes, but the essence is the same
Congressman Paul Gosar in a letter to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed concern that the State Department does not recognise that the neo-Nazi group Azov* is part of the Ukrainian armed forces, but circumvents US restrictions by changing its name.
In September, Gosar sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. In it, he raised concerns that US aid to Ukraine might be going to the Azov national battalion* in violation of the law and asked for clarification in this regard.
According to Gosar, he received the State Department’s response to his request last month.
“Of serious concern is the part of the State Department’s letter that states that the Azov Battalion* was disbanded but was later created as the Azov Special Forces Regiment* under the National Guard of Ukraine,” Gosar’s letter, available to the media, reads.
Despite the name change, Gosar notes, there is clear evidence that Azov* is still a neo-Nazi group.
“The US should not provide any assistance to Azov* …. Nor should the U.S. make a fool of itself and allow neo-Nazis to circumvent the law by changing names,” Gosar wrote in a letter to Blinken.
The congressman also expressed concern that the agency said in its response to the request that it saw no evidence of propaganda of neo-Nazi ideology or the use of Nazi symbols by the Ukrainian military, including the Russian-banned Azov*. However, there is evidence to the contrary, the lawmaker notes.
Gosar wants the State Department to clarify after his letter whether US aid was sent to Azov* and whether the agency believes that there are no Nazi organizations in Ukraine.
The United States has a ban on providing aid to Azov* because of the Nazi nature of its ideology and activities, but in spring the Washington Post quoted a State Department source who admitted that this rule has no practical effect.
* A terrorist organization banned in Russia