The Washington Post publsihed an article headlined "The Obama administration is underestimating Putin’s ambitions." According to the authors of the article, former advisors to Georgia’s government Molly McKew and Gregory Maniatis, the US authorities still don't have a clear understanding of Russia's policies.
"President Obama has dismissed Russia as a “regional” power that “leads no bloc of nations, no global ideology.” But the Obama administration has consistently underestimated Vladimir Putin and continues to do so by asserting that Russia is isolated. Putin has laid the groundwork to assemble a powerful alternative to the transatlantic alliance," the article begins.
"Russia stands at the center of dozens of nations uncomfortable with or unsuited to the Western principles that President Obama described as “self-evident.” They chafe at Western control of global institutions and norms. Putin aims to offer them alternatives and is strengthening key relationships that will allow him to do so — with disgruntled mid-powers such as India, with regimes that have been kept at arm’s length for their behavior and with certain European political elites," the authors write.
"It is wrong to think that Crimea is Moscow’s only strategic objective. As Putin’s stock at home soars, he is likely to methodically challenge the European Union and, especially, NATO. Russia’s willingness to use overwhelming force and the West’s inability to effectively respond give him two key advantages," the article reads.
"As the real possibility of force hangs over Russia’s neighbors, Putin will focus resources on the launch of the Eurasian Union next year. This new alliance is not a Soviet reunion tour — it is far more geographically ambitious. Russian exports of military equipment and oil will help the Eurasian Union assemble geopolitical capital far beyond Europe’s borders," the authors believe.
"This alliance would begin to give Putin the validation he craves and the bipolar world he insists is essential for stability. The Eurasian Union is the core and the linchpin; his further alliances add economic and military clout that encourages smaller partners to coalesce toward these benefits," the article reads.
"We were blindsided in Georgia in 2008; it is happening again in 2014. Everyone still hopes Putin will stop at Crimea. But hope is not a strategy. Waiting and reacting to each move by a revanchist leader is a losing proposition; we must anticipate and deflect his moves. It would be a grave mistake not to plan for a prolonged, multi-layered confrontation. Failing to do so will undercut the values that generations of Europeans, Americans and their allies have rightly fought to advance," the authors of the article conclude.
The Christian Science Monitor published an article by Brad Knickerbocker entitled "Putin, Obama maneuver over crisis in Ukraine. Whose advantage?"
"The US-Russia stand-off over Ukraine grew tenser Sunday as both sides maneuvered for position and the two nations’ top diplomats met once again to discuss resolution of the direst situation between the two countries since the end of the Cold War," the author writes. "At this point, there has been no sign of give on either side."
Speaking on Russian television before meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Russian ambassador’s residence in Paris, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made it clear that Moscow believes a federation is the only way to guarantee Ukraine's stability and neutrality, the Christian Science Monitor informs.
"We can't see any other way to ensure the stable development of Ukraine but to sign a federal agreement," Minister Lavrov is quoted as saying by the news agency.
"US officials have been coy about their position on a federation and insist that any changes to Ukraine's governing structure must be acceptable to the Ukrainians. Ukrainian officials are wary of decentralizing power, fearing that pro-Russia regions would hamper its western aspirations and potentially split the country apart. However, they are exploring political reforms that could grant more authority to local governments," the author writes.
"House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R), Sen. Feinstein’s counterpart in the House of Representatives, has a different view of Putin’s intentions," the article reads. "Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” he said that beyond the current troop buildup along the Russia-Ukraine border, Putin is moving troops in northern Georgia and planting intelligence officers in Ukraine," the author informs.
"He said Russian troops in the northern region of Georgia, known as South Ossetia, are on the move, perhaps to go into Armenia or toward the Baltic Sea," the article reads.
"There’s no way I’d take this as any other way than [Putin] is working for a land bridge," the author of the article quotes Rogers as saying.
