Ukraine: USA and Europe shaky, Russia firm!
-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL
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Notwithstanding all pressure tactics including economic sanctions by the USA and EU, Russia has remained bold to slap ban on imports from USA and EU countries, causing heavy economic losses.
After all Russia has never been a weak nation ever since it built an empire in Eurasia even before the mighty Soviet Union came into existence after the WW-II.
Arms trade and energy sales made Russia a strong economy. Russia has large currency reserves and little foreign debt, giving it a transitional period of at least two years that is enough time to find new buyers and distribution routes for Russian gas.
Russia annexed in March Ukraine’s southern autonomous republic of Crimea, after a referendum. Residents of two restive regions in eastern Ukraine engulfed by a pro-Russian insurgency successfully cast ballots on the 10th May in contentious and hastily organized independence referendums – a move condemned by the Ukrainian government and the West. The ballots sought approval for declaring so-called sovereign people’s republics in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where rebels have seized government buildings and clashed with police and Ukrainian troops
Earlier, Ukraine’s caretaker government came to power in February following the ouster of Russia-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych after months of protests in Kiev. Moscow and many in Ukraine’s east denounced the new government as a nationalist junta and alleged that it intended to trample on the rights of eastern Ukraine’s Russian-speakers.
Crimea was formally annexed by Russia days later. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had asked the referendums’ organizers to delay the vote as he bargained with Western powers on conditions for defusing the worst crisis in relations between Russia and the West since the Cold War. The insurgents, knowing it is just a mere rhetoric without any meaning, however, have refused to heed his call.
Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of fomenting or even directing the unrest in the east Ukraine, with the goal of destabilizing Ukraine or finding a pretext for invasion. Russia has rejected the accusations. Ukraine’s authorities and the West have rejected the referendums as illegal. Ukraine’s interim pro-US president said supporters of independence for the east don’t understand that this would be a complete destruction of the economy, social programs and general life for the majority of the population.
In fact, it appears, it is USA and EU that are seeking to weaken Ukraine so that Kiev remains dependent on them. They seem to be eager to make Kiev from where Russia originated to become a strong military power to challenge Russian holdover its former Soviet space.
The punitive sanctions by USA and EU, imposed in March after Russia annexed Crimea include visa bans and the freezing of any US assets for nearly 50 political and business allies of Putin. All these are primarily symbolic acts that affected people close to Putin and intended to make Russian president Putin back down while the sanctions imposed no real burden on the Kremlin and EU. NATO is now targeting key sectors of Russian economy for further sanctions. The energy and banking sectors, plus military arms sales, are among the most likely targets.
Many people have been reported killed since Ukrainian forces began mounting offensives to retake some eastern cities now under control of the insurgents. New violence involving pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine suggests the measures are not curbing the Kremlin. Many EU governments, therefore, are skeptical that the sanctions could actually get Putin to back down. Since Europeans have ruled out the use of military means, these mild economic sanctions are the most powerful weapon that they have in the battle over Ukraine’s future.
Even as the Kremlin continues to be persistent with its agenda in Ukraine, western powers have resorted to strong rhetoric as their collective answer to what they view as Moscow’s expansionist push. Earlier, USA tried best to fix Russia in Georgian standoff but failed.
US president Barrack Obama warned that Putin Russia will face increasing costs as well as growing isolation for destabilizing Ukraine. Appearing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel the leader of EU at a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden, Obama said the two nations are united in unwavering support for Ukraine, and of penalizing Russian leaders for fomenting unrest there. Obama urged Moscow to press pro-Russia militants to free the US military observers taken hostage. Both Obama and Merkel (USA and EU) said they want to see a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.
Obama and Merkel discussed the need for Europe to diversify its energy sources and make Europe less depend on Russia gas.
During meetings, the two leaders also discussed the US National Security Agency’s spy program, which targeted Merkel’s phone conversations and caused tension between the two allies.
EU leaders had warned Russia it faced further sanctions if Ukraine’s presidential election fails to go ahead. However, Ukrainian election went off and a new president who is not pro-Russia has assumed office. Russia does not want any pro-west president in Ukraine but the president has to be neutral. .
Most European nations do not want any conflict with the Kremlin that supplies gas to them, while getting Europe to agree to tougher sanctions has been a challenge for Obama. Economies of Eastern Europe are intertwined with that of Russia and would suffer the most. These are afraid of the economic costs a trade boycott could bring. So they expect the West European nations to take the lead. UK, however, wants big sanctions.
Some European nations have tight economic ties to Russia and many of them depend heavily on Russian oil and gas imports. Some of Germany’s largest businesses have voiced strong opposition to broader sanctions against Russia. They include Deutsche Bank, Volkswagen, Adidas, chemical giant BASF and engineering and electronics conglomerate Siemens, all with operations in Russia.
Russian ban tactics has put Europe in distress.
The EU members, being the sufferers of the sanctions, are individually worried about the impact of the sanctions no so much on Russia as on themselves. In fact, during consultations about sanctions many EU partners are most interested in talking about how to secure exceptions for their own economies. The French and the Germans don’t want sanctions. Germany as EU boss is betting on financial sanctions, which would mean using the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank Reconstruction and Development to exert pressure on Moscow. France and Britain sought tough new sanctions to be imposed. Many other EU members also contributed to this stuff.
Germany is eager to see that Putin would not accomplish one of his important goals, dividing the Europeans. The German government is grasping for “go slow” signals, because they may serve as a reason not to implement the third level of sanctions.
USA-Russia relations suffered a jolt and US President Barack Obama has warned if Moscow continues fueling unrest in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and others in his leadership circle will face increasingly broad sanctions with devastating consequences for the Kremlin. Ukraine’s parliament had voted in February to remove Victor Yanukovych as the country’s leader. Obama said any Russian attempts to interfere with Ukraine’s May 25 presidential election would prompt new pressure on Russia’s energy sector.
Russia is estimated to have some 40,000 troops near the border, but has said it has no plans to cross into mainland Ukraine. Moscow says the troops have been pulled back, but NATO says it has seen no sign of this.
Moscow has indicated it is willing to use its gas supplies as leverage in the dispute over Ukraine. Russia has substantially raised the price of gas to Ukraine and threatened to reduce the amount it supplies.
Putin’s determination to secure his influence over eastern Ukraine is also related to the region’s importance to the Russian armaments industry. The Russian army’s airplane motors, gear boxes and rocket equipment are in large part built in eastern Ukraine.
Uncle Sam who plays the chief policeman in international politics to maintain its iron fist over Europeans, among others, needs to let peace prevail in every region.
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INTERNATIONAL OPINION 