World press on Putin's visit to Normandy (June 6, 2014)"Vladimir Putin’s European adventures" is an article about Vladimir Putin's foreign politics in light of his visit to Normandy to meet with world leaders president of France Francois Hollande, British prime minister David Cameron and the chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel. "Even as eastern Ukraine sinks into further conflict, European leaders have little appetite for new sanctions against Russia. With official meetings fixed with Mr Hollande and Britain’s David Cameron, the diplomatic isolation threatened by Western leaders is not extending to Mr Putin personally. And France is going ahead with its sale of Mistral-class assault ships to Russia," the article reads."At a minimum, Mr Putin and separatist forces in the east, inspired and in many cases supported by the Kremlin even if not run by it, have created facts on the ground that make the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO impossible. This was Mr Putin’s most paranoid fear from the start of the Maidan protests in Kiev last November. The Kremlin will doubtless push for Ukraine to drop any such aspirations. Beyond that, the insurgency in the east gives Mr Putin a bargaining chip that can be used to threaten Kiev and can ultimately be traded for more decentralisation. It may be that Mr Putin was not dissuaded from invading eastern Ukraine by the threat of sanctions, but that he would have gone in only if there had been no other way to achieve these goals.""The weakness in Mr Putin’s strategy is that, by allowing his visceral fears to drive his policy in Ukraine, he risks bringing about just what he hoped to avoid. He has lost Ukraine as an ally and a potential partner in the Eurasian union, while NATO is reasserting its military posture and bolstering its defences (see article). The spectre of increased NATO forces on Russia’s borders in Poland and the Baltic states has become a reality thanks to Mr Putin’s actions in Ukraine. And having fought to preserve its sovereignty and economic leverage in relation to Europe and the West, Russia risks replacing them with a new dependence on China," the article concludes."Obama, allies say Russia has chance to rebuild ties with West" is another article on the subject published today by the Washington Post.Commenting about the possibility of further sanctions, the article reads: "Speaking later aboard Air Force One, U.S. officials made clear that certain escalatory actions — such as Russian troops crossing the border into Ukraine — would trigger more punitive measures. But they would not define exactly what Putin would have to do to avoid further sanctions. Nor would they set an exact deadline."As a conclusion, it quotes the G-7 communique released late Wednesday, ahead of the meeting: "'We are united in condemning the Russian Federation’s continuing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, and actions to de-stabilize eastern Ukraine are unacceptable and must stop,' read a G-7 communique released late Wednesday. 'We stand ready to intensify targeted sanctions and to implement significant additional restrictive measures to impose further costs on Russia should events so require.'"
"Vladimir Putin’s European adventures" is an article about Vladimir Putin's foreign politics in light of his visit to Normandy to meet with world leaders president of France Francois Hollande, British prime minister David Cameron and the chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel.
"Even as eastern Ukraine sinks into further conflict, European leaders have little appetite for new sanctions against Russia. With official meetings fixed with Mr Hollande and Britain’s David Cameron, the diplomatic isolation threatened by Western leaders is not extending to Mr Putin personally. And France is going ahead with its sale of Mistral-class assault ships to Russia," the article reads.
"At a minimum, Mr Putin and separatist forces in the east, inspired and in many cases supported by the Kremlin even if not run by it, have created facts on the ground that make the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO impossible. This was Mr Putin’s most paranoid fear from the start of the Maidan protests in Kiev last November. The Kremlin will doubtless push for Ukraine to drop any such aspirations. Beyond that, the insurgency in the east gives Mr Putin a bargaining chip that can be used to threaten Kiev and can ultimately be traded for more decentralisation. It may be that Mr Putin was not dissuaded from invading eastern Ukraine by the threat of sanctions, but that he would have gone in only if there had been no other way to achieve these goals."
"The weakness in Mr Putin’s strategy is that, by allowing his visceral fears to drive his policy in Ukraine, he risks bringing about just what he hoped to avoid. He has lost Ukraine as an ally and a potential partner in the Eurasian union, while NATO is reasserting its military posture and bolstering its defences (see article). The spectre of increased NATO forces on Russia’s borders in Poland and the Baltic states has become a reality thanks to Mr Putin’s actions in Ukraine. And having fought to preserve its sovereignty and economic leverage in relation to Europe and the West, Russia risks replacing them with a new dependence on China," the article concludes.
"Obama, allies say Russia has chance to rebuild ties with West" is another article on the subject published today by the Washington Post.
Commenting about the possibility of further sanctions, the article reads: "Speaking later aboard Air Force One, U.S. officials made clear that certain escalatory actions — such as Russian troops crossing the border into Ukraine — would trigger more punitive measures. But they would not define exactly what Putin would have to do to avoid further sanctions. Nor would they set an exact deadline."
As a conclusion, it quotes the G-7 communique released late Wednesday, ahead of the meeting: "'We are united in condemning the Russian Federation’s continuing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, and actions to de-stabilize eastern Ukraine are unacceptable and must stop,' read a G-7 communique released late Wednesday. 'We stand ready to intensify targeted sanctions and to implement significant additional restrictive measures to impose further costs on Russia should events so require.'"
