Beyond the prize of the Black Sea peninsula, a picture is emerging of what the Russian president ultimately wants from his power play: broad autonomy for Ukraines Russian-speaking regions and guarantees that Ukraine will never realize the Kremlins worst nightmare — joining NATO. The big question is whether Putin is willing to invade more areas of eastern Ukraine to achieve these goals. For the West, it all boils down to a tough dilemma over compromising with Moscow to avert military conflict or taking a hard-line stance and risking a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Putin has sent clear signals he could take extreme measures if he doesnt get his way on keeping Ukraine out of NATO and ensuring that Ukraine remains in Russias political and economic orbit.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:37:13 +0000