Kidnapped by the Kremlin
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21598639-west-can-punish-putins-russia-its-belligerence-ukraine-only-if-it-prepared
The article discusses Western solutions to Putin's actions in Ukraine. The article makes a strong stance against military interventions but it is in support of extra stringent sanctions that would exceed Putin's expectations. The US and the EU are already considering a wide range of sanctions that would limit Russia's economic ties with Europe and the US. One of the key sanctions would be to end oil and gas contracts with Kremlin and to cut Russia's financial institutions from the world arena.
Now West is faced with the choice to either stand for what their democratic governments have been preaching for for decades, which is support of the nations that seek to establish democracies and join the West, or continue their soft stance with Putin in order to protect themselves from economic and political losses if Russia decides to cut off gas supply and side with Syrian and Iranian government (hot spots where the West has a lot of invested interest).
1 comment:
Living in an anarchic world, bolstering and upholding norms and social values is critical to the survival of the international system. One of these norms is that of sovereignty. While many Russian speakers may live in the Crimean peninsula and the Ukraine, that serves as no reason for Russian invasion. The EU, UN and NATO clearly hold little power in the eyes of Putin and I feel that they really hold no weight here. It then comes down to the countries to halt Putin's crusade for power. The United States obviously has begun to stick their nose in. And the visa bans will be a crucial element of this path to stop Putin. But I would argue that the United States and China stand strong on their principles of sovereignty and team up to block and invasion in the Ukraine. Because Russia relies on so much business with the US and China, this should be enough of a deterrent to significantly impact their economy. Even just last week, their economy dropped about 12% (I think). His people are losing faith in his ruling and are pulling their money out of the economy. We really just need to continue to apply pressure. Putin is much like Napolean. He is just trying to make a show of his power. The US and China will need to build a front against him and just watch as his people and economy slowly turn on him.
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