'Eternal Sanctions': Why Russian Hatred of the West is Now so Great (Trouw, The Netherlands)

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No Way Out? If Crimea never returns to Ukraine, that logically
means that Western sanctions on Russia can never be lifted.

'Eternal Sanctions': Why Russian Hatred of the West is Now so Great (Trouw, The Netherlands)

"Crimea will likely never return to Ukrainian hands. This means that sanctions imposed in response to its annexation cannot be lifted. One can compare this with the still-existing sanctions the E.U. imposed on China following the heavy-handed crackdown on the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989. Sanctions bring back neither the dead nor annexed areas, yet they remain eternally in force and prevent a fresh start."

By Rob de Wijk

Translated By Marion Pini

June 22, 2015

The Netherlands - Trouw - Original Article (Dutch)

After the G7 Summit of rich industrial countries in Schloss Elmau, American President Obama asked whether his Russian counterpart Putin really wants to ruin his country economically in order to restore the honor of the old Soviet Union.

The answer is: yes. At least judging from conversations I had in recent weeks with Russian politicians and industrialists. During those conversations, I noticed how great the hatred is toward the West. This goes so far that a board member of state oil company Gazprom argued that the sanctions are a blessing for Russia, and that as far as he's concerned they don’t need to be lifted because they force Russia into a new direction - away from Europe.

External enemy

Who the main allies of Russia are had already become apparent: China, with whom Gazprom has signed a major contract to become less dependent on the West; Saudi Arabia, which is on a collision course with the United States now that Washington is befriending its archenemy Iran; and countries like India and Brazil, which are important regional players and where anti-American sentiment is quite apparent. Those who don't realize how anti-Western the new world order has become will soon find out through exchanges like these.

To Reshape Global Order, Russia Needs Help of Other Disgruntled Peoples (Gazeta, Russia)

[Click Here to Read]

Yet, despite the difficulty of doing so and for the sake of peace in Europe, it is necessary to find a solution to the Ukraine crisis.

In countries threatened militarily or by sanctions, citizens unite behind their leaders. Nothing promotes the unity of a country as well as an external enemy. It kindles nationalism and revanchism, and ripens the spirits for military action and acceptance of economic hardship. That is exactly why sanctions and other threats often backfire.

That is why currently, I see no natural way out of the Ukraine crisis. Crimea will likely never return to Ukrainian hands. This means that sanctions imposed in response to its annexation cannot be lifted. One can compare this with the still-existing sanctions the E.U. imposed on China following the heavy-handed crackdown on the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989. Sanctions bring back neither the dead nor annexed areas, yet they remain eternally in force and prevent a fresh start.

Posted By Worldmeets.US

Bilateral dispute

As long as the sanctions remain, Russia will hardly be inclined toward making real compromise on eastern Ukraine, triggering the strengthening of existing sanctions and additional one for supporting the separatists.

One solution is to regard the Crimean issue a bilateral dispute between Ukraine and Russia in exchange for strong Russian support for a resolution of the conflict in east Ukraine. The sanctions which were imposed in response to the annexation of Crimea could then be lifted and the lifting of any remaining sanctions would be made dependent on the peace process in east Ukraine.

Such an approach could also gradually diminish the risk of an even greater crisis in Europe.

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