As expected! For now the West is all talk and no bite. As perfectly argued by Ben Judah yesterday, the EU member states are not at all prepared to give up Russian money flows, lucrative contracts and revert to costlier energy sources. The US has no actual means to help directly and unilateral US sanctions pose very little problems for Russia (on the short run). Neither do we see a credible financial assistance package for Ukraine. The UK is probably right to discourage any discussion of military preparations. With no economic or military means to put real pressure the alternatives are scant and deal mainly with symbolics. Unfortunately for the West, we came to the point where using NATO as a sort of red flag has become a more acceptable solution. This is insane.This also goes directly in the style of confrontation and blustering Russia is good at. They want the conversation to be whether Obama is strong enough. Nobody wants a shooting war in either Ukraine or the Black Sea. But when the conversation is all foreign policy and sphere of influence the West has fewer winning arguments. The Russian swipe away democratic legitimacy, sovereignty and freedom of choice issues in Ukraine. The EU is not prepared to push the boundaries and offer Ukraine a membership perspective thus totally changing the setting. This may not be the defining test for Obama but more and more it becomes one for the West.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 08:27:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015