President Obama svarade den 9 februari på den gemensamma presskonferensen med Angela Merkel såhär på en fråga om sin syn på Ukraina/Ryssland:
On providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, it’s important to point out that we have been providing assistance to the Ukrainian military generally. That’s been part of a longstanding relationship between NATO and Ukraine. And our goal has not been for Ukraine to be equipped to carry on offensive operations, but to simply defend itself. And President Poroshenko has been very clear — he’s not interested in escalating violence, he is interested in having his country’s boundaries respected by its neighbor.
So there’s not going to be any specific point at which I say, ah, clearly lethal defensive weapons would be appropriate here. It is our ongoing analysis of what can we do to dissuade Russia from encroaching further and further on Ukrainian territory. Our hope is, is that that’s done through diplomatic means.
And I just want to emphasize here once again for the benefit not just of the American people but for the German people, we are not looking for Russia to fail. We are not looking for Russia to be surrounded and contained and weakened. Our preference is for a strong, prosperous, vibrant, confident Russia that can be a partner with us on a whole host of global challenges. And that’s how I operated throughout my first term in office.
I den debatt som nu pågår om synen på Putins Ryssland finns det anledning att ta del av den analys som idag publiceras på
Brookings hemsida. Det är Fiona Hill, expert på Ryssland och chef för Brookings Center on the United States and Europe som kyligt och sakligt benar ut frågan.
In sum, dealing with Russia and working toward a solution in Ukraine will require us to throw out all previous playbooks. Facing up to the realities of Russian’s foreign policy goals are only the first step. Realism, incrementalism, flexibility, and unity are the pillars for building a new strategy.