Hosting a peace conference May 11 to resolve issues between Ukraine and Russia, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier hopes to bridge differences between the estranged nations. Since a pro-Western coup toppled Russian-backed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich Feb. 22, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been hostile to the West, especially the U.S. that pushed for U.N. sanctions after Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014. “It is necessary to give new momentum [to efforts] to surmount obstacles between Kiev and Moscow,” said Steinmeir, knowing that Putin shows no sign of returning Crimea to Ukraine. Once pro-Western forces took over Kiev, Putin felt inclined to protect Russian interests seizing the strategic Black Sea peninsula, home to Russia’s Southern fleet. Faced with punitive U.N. economic sanctions, Putin showed no interest in compromise.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wants Putin to return Crimea and pull back Russian forces from backing pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region of Southeastern Ukraine. Putin showed no interest so far in returning Crimea or pulling support from Donetsk or Luhansk, both Russian enclaves of Southeastern Ukraine. President Barack Obama has given Putin the cold shoulder since he seized the Crimean Peninsula only one week after closing ceremonies at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Putin accused the CIA of supplying arms to pro-Western Ukrainian rebels led by current Kiev Mayor, former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko. “That is why I have sent out an invitation for a meeting of foreign ministers . . . on May 11 in Berlin,” said Steinmeir, two days after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko asked for a meeting to deal with unfinished business.
Putin hinted he’s be willing to talk about the fate of Crimea only if the old Russian-backed government were reinstated. Putin objected to pro-Western forces illegally toppling an elected government. Neither the European Union nor the United States acknowledge that the CIA was involved in orchestrating the coup that brought down Kremlin-backed Yanukovich. With Ukraine’s economy in shambles, Poroshenko’s now willing to consider Russian demands, especially after Russian-nemesis Ukrainian Prime Minister Arsneiy Yatsenyuk resigned April 14. Yatsenyuk helped orchestrate the anti-Kremlin coup, driving Yanukovich out of Kiev Feb. 22, 2014. Since Putin annexed Crimea March 1, 2014, NATO has been on high alert, delivering personnel and arms to Poland the Baltic States. Putin now sees any NATO move as encroachment on Russian sovereignty.
U.N. estimates 9,300 deaths, 21,000 injuries and thousands of Ukrainians displaced since the conflict erupted after Putin invaded Crimea. Steinmeir wants “concreted proposals now on the table” to cement a permanent truce and restoration of relations between Ukraine and Russia. Backing the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe [OECD] “interesting re-stabilization proposals,” Steinmeir looks for Poroshenko and Putin to honor the Sept. 5, 2014 Minsk I and Feb. 11, 2015 Minsk II protocols, calling for an end to hostilities in the Donbass region. Both protocols called for Moscow to withdraw, marked and unmarked, forces from the region, in exchange for greater autonomy to Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Poroshenko compromised with Moscow forcing Yatsenuk out. Putin’s ready to compromise but only with Kiev’s strong assurances that it’s granting autonomy to Donbass region, home to thousands of pro-Russian separatists.
With Steinmeir taking initiative to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, it shows just how far U.S.-Russian relations deteriorated under Obama over the last eight years. Unlike prior U.S. presidents, Obama has made little effort, despite having opportunities, to reconcile with Moscow. Putin asked the U.S. on numerous occasions to stop backing the Saudi proxy war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Had Obama showed any interest backing Putin’s efforts to shore up al-Assad, it would have gone a long way to mend fences with Moscow. Letting U.S.-Russian relations deteriorate has caused the U.S. headaches in other parts of the globe, especially with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and with China’s Xi Jinping. Putin commands leverage with both Communist leaders. Having Putin’s backing would make life easier for U.S. interests in Korean Peninsula and South China Sea.
Watching hostilities breakout in Ukraine’s Donbass region killing two Ukrainian soldiers prompted Steinmeir to call for a summit. Mired in Iraq and Syria battling the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Obama doesn’t see the linkage with Moscow. If Barack wants Putin to cooperate in Syria, he needs to make concessions in Ukraine, especially on punitive economic sanctions that have harmed the Russian economy. “As a result of hostilities, over the past 24 hours, two Ukrainain soldiers have been killed and four others wounded,” Ukraine’s military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told the press. Holding the summit May 11, Secretary of State John Kerry should find linkage with Moscow in Syria to help resolve hotspots around the globe, especially on the Korean Peninsula. Cutting Putin some slack in Ukraine should pay rich dividends Syria, where the U.S. must switch gears to back Putin.
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