Gains cloud Obama's assurances to the Baltics
WASHINGTON — For the second time this year, President Barack Obama will travel to Russia’s backyard to assure nervous nations of his ironclad commitment to their security. But his objectives will be clouded by the West’s inability to halt the Russian aggression in Ukraine that has stoked fears in other former Soviet republics.
Fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia rebels continued in eastern Ukraine as Obama prepared to fly to Estonia for meetings with Baltic leaders and to Wales for a NATO summit. The Ukrainian government, NATO and Western nations say Russia has already sent troops, artillery and tanks across Ukraine’s southeast border to reinforce the separatists, a claim Russia has denied.
While Obama has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could face more economic penalties, he also continues to resist calls for the U.S. to provide military support to help Ukrainian forces push back the Russian incursion.
The president’s response to the Ukraine crisis is just one element of a broader foreign policy approach that is drawing criticism from both opponents and allies who fear the White House is being too tentative in the face of global threats.
“I think Putin has sized up the West and figured that the most difficult sanctions against Russia and the arms necessary for the Ukrainians to be able to defend themselves are not coming from the West, and we have to prove him wrong,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.
Still, eastern Ukraine’s pro-Russia rebels softened their demand for full independence Monday, saying they would respect Ukraine’s sovereignty in exchange for autonomy. That shift appeared to reflect Putin’s desire to make a deal that would allow Russia to avoid more punitive Western sanctions while preserving a significant degree of leverage over its neighbor.
Eugene Rumer, a former U.S. intelligence officer for Russia, said the inability of the U.S. and Europe to stop Putin so far is compounding fears in the countries near Russia’s borders.
“They see Western responses as insufficient, which adds to their concerns,” said Rumer.
The crisis between Russia and Ukraine has raised the stakes for this week’s NATO summit. Obama will press member states to increase their military spending, and the alliance is expected to agree on plans to boost training missions and other military commitments in Central and Eastern European countries.
