US President Barack Obama and his national security team are looking beyond the crisis in Ukraine to adopt an updated version of the Cold War strategy of containment against Russia, a report says.
In an effort to contain Moscow’s rising power, Obama is focused on isolating the Russian Federation by cutting off its economic and political ties to the world, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
The United States and Russia are at loggerheads over the worsening crisis in Ukraine.
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17 and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum a day earlier, in which nearly 97 percent of the participants voted in favor of the move.
On March 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the documents officially making Crimea part of the Russian territory. He said the move was carried out based on the international law.
On Thursday, Russia, Ukraine, the US and the European Union agreed over steps to “de-escalate” the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where anti-Kiev protesters seized buildings in several towns and cities.
But, Ukrainian authorities have ordered a military offensive against the protesters, claiming that Russian special forces are fueling unrest in the country.
According to The New York Times report, Obama has concluded that even if there is a resolution to the current confrontation between Washington and Moscow over Crimea and eastern Ukraine, he will never have a constructive relationship with his Russian counterpart.
Consequently, Obama has decided to spend his remaining time in office trying to weaken Putin’s control on power, but will ignore his certain acts in favor of other foreign policy areas where progress remains possible.
“That is the strategy we ought to be pursuing,” said Ivo H. Daalder, former US ambassador to NATO and now president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “If you just stand there, be confident and raise the cost gradually and increasingly to Russia, that doesn’t solve your Crimea problem and it probably doesn’t solve your eastern Ukraine problem. But it may solve your Russia problem.”
