Making Russia Feel the Pain for Taking Crimea (El Pais, Spain)
"The U.S. and E.U. have warned that taking Crimea will have
" consequences," but they have failed to outline what those consequences
might be. ... The message to Moscow must be clear: we cannot maintain normal
relations with Russia as long as Russia doesn't maintain normal relations with
its neighbors. There can be no business as usual."
Russian President Vladimir Putin participates in a falg-raising ceremony at the 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games. Is there any prevent Russia from taking Crimea and continueing to the destabilization of Ukraine?
Russia
is now situated in a position of strength: it has not only put Crimea under its
definitive control, but with the help of other elements (both in terms of enthusiasm
and demonstrations) it has other tools available to keep Ukraine in a constant state
of crisis, preventing necessary progress in terms of democratic and economic
reform, as well as the achievement of social peace. The U.S. and E.U. have
warned that taking Crimea will have " consequences," but they have failed
to outline what those consequences might be. In our paper How
Can the E.U. Impose Costs on Russia?, we of the European Council on
Foreign Relations argueurgently
suspending all economic cooperation with Moscow. We propose:
--
The government in Kiev must receive both economic and financial support in its
efforts to establish a broad-based governing coalition
--
The correct execution of the May 25th elections as well as political and
constitutional changes must be guaranteed
--
European and non-European politicians must strengthen their presence in Ukraine
- that goes for representatives of the U.N., IMF, and above all, the OSCE, especially in Crimea, where observers should be sent
--
Raise the pressure on Russia, including by canceling the "South Stream" pipeline
agreements and halting talks on visa liberalization
Posted By
Worldmeets.US
--
Impose an E.U. travel ban and freeze the bank accounts of members of the Russian
Federation
Council [the Duma's upper house] that authorized
Putin to intervene in Ukraine and threaten to block the accounts of Russian
companies in the E.U.
--
Launch a diplomatic offensive with Russia's neighbors in Central Asia to
pressure Moscow and demand that it guarantee Ukraine's territorial integrity.
No one is secure in Russia's neighborhood
The
message to Moscow must be clear: we cannot maintain normal relations with
Russia as long as Russia doesn't maintain normal relations with its neighbors.
There can be no business as usual.
