The crisis in the Ukraine continued after a truce by President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders fell apart continuing the violence bringing the week’s death toll to 50.
President Obama reacted “The United States condemns in strongest terms the violence that’s taking place there. And we have been deeply engaged with our European partners as well as both the Ukrainian government and the opposition to try to assure that that violence ends.”
The president issued a stern warning to the Ukrainian government, “we hold the Ukrainian government primarily responsible for making sure that it is dealing with peaceful protesters in an appropriate way; that the Ukrainian people are able to assemble and speak freely about their interests without fear of repression.”
“But regardless of how the Ukrainian people determine their own future, it is important that it is the people themselves that make those decisions. And that’s what the United States will continue to strive to achieve.”
This statement by the president has a credibility problem as the international community has heard this before with regard to the “redline” in Syria, and its strategy toward Iran and the Middle East.
The unfortunate aspect is outside forces are shaping conditions in the Ukraine, most notably Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, has a vested interest ensuring President Viktor Yanukovych remains in power and continues cooperation and alignment with Moscow.
Putin currently is sending an envoy to the Ukraine at the request of President Yanukovich to help mediate the crisis between government forces and the opposition.
Many international experts have been critical of the United States response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Taras Kuzio, Non-Resident Fellow at the Centre for Transatlantic Relations, School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University, “The only step the West can do to prevent Ukraine’s triple crisis from ending in bloodshed and a split in the country is to impose targeted sanctions on the president, government, officials, Party of Regions’ leaders and oligarchs. This would encourage internal divisions in the regime and its disintegration from within.”
“Only the US can lead here but sadly President Obama is not a leader. The EU cannot lead because it has turned a blind eye to corruption in Ukraine and Eurasia and in the process benefited from the impoverishment of the Ukrainian people and export of capital to Western Europe and its offshore zones.
International experts level foreign policy missteps at the feet of the European Union. Stefan Meister, Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), “The main mistake is, that the EU still thinks, change would come from the leadership of Ukraine but not through the pressure from below. The EU needs to think about how to involve society in the rapprochement process with Ukraine.”
Matthew Rojansky, Director of the Kennan Institute, Wilson Center, “I think it is critically important for Ukrainians to understand that they are the masters of their own fate. This is a matter of Ukraine’s basic national identity, and of its future as a prosperous unitary state, though it is not necessarily an easy or an obvious conclusion for people who have been subject to the whims of powerful outsiders for centuries. Of course, old habits die hard, and it is easy to blame others for Ukrainians’ choices, whether those others are outside powers, corrupt authorities, or disappointing political/civic leaders.”
As the crisis unfolds, challenges will continue to remain. The main question is how will the military respond to the ongoing crisis; will they back the government or the opposition?
How much influence will Putin have on the ongoing crisis? How will President Obama react to the ongoing crisis, since his track record on the international stage has been less than stellar?
This crisis will continue and will be seen by the international community as a referendum on the president’s foreign policy credentials.
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