President Joe Biden confrontational approach with 69-year-old President Vladimir Putin could back fire on Ukraine. Biden warned Putin Dec. 7 at a Zoom video chat that he would apply the most punitive economic sanctions ever applied on Russia if he breachs Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “President Biden looked Putin in the eye and told him that things we did not do in 2014, we are prepared to do now,” said 45-year-old National Security Jake Adviser, who was deputy secretary of state under former President Barack Obama when Putin invaded Crimea March 1, 2014. Sullivan looks like he’s carrying an old grudge, knowing that the Obama-Biden White House did little to stop Putin from annexing Crimea. What Sullivan doesn’t say is what happened Feb. 22, 2014 when a CIA-backed coup with pro-Democracy separatists toppled the duly elected Kremlin-backed government of Viktor Yanukovych.
Biden, his 59-year-old Secretary of State Toney Blinken and Sullivan don’t want to admit that Putin did not invade Crimea without provocation coming from the CIA-backed coup that threatened the Russian naval base Sevastopol, Crimea. Without the Feb. 22l, 2014 CIA-backed coup, Putin would have never seized the Crimean Peninsula. Putin seized Crimea playing a dangerous game of chess with Ukraine which chased Yanukovych out of Kiev. But if you talk to 43-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, seizing Crimea was an act of naked aggression. Biden’s attempt to stop Putin from seizing more Ukrainian territory has pushed the world to the brink. Putin has a superior military capable to seizing any territory in Ukraine or other parts of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea. Threatening Putin with punitive economic sanctions could backfire on Biden.
U.S., European Union [EU] and NATO must be honest about what happened Feb. 22, 2014 when a CIA, pro-Democracy coup toppled the Kremlin-backed government of Viktor Yanukovych when Putin sat helpless hosting the Sochi Winter Olympics. CIA operatives and pro-Democracy forces in Ukraine led by former heavyweight boxer Vitali Klitschko knew exactly when to pounce on Yanukovych. When the dust settled, Putin closed out the Souchi Games Feb. 23, 2014, taking a week to mobilize the Russian army to invade Crimea. Biden has joined the anti-Russian bandwagon accusing Putin of amassing 95,000 troops on the Ukrainian border with the intent of seizing more territory. Putin has told the media on repeated occasions he has not intent of seizing more Ukrainian territory, making Biden’s accusations look unfounded. Putin made clear he has “red lines” in Ukraine.
After Biden’s Dec. 7 Zoom meeting with Putin, he said he didn’t respect Putin’s red lines, provoking the situation to the current standoff. Putin said clearly his red line was Ukraine joining NATO and stationing troops, missiles or other military hardware in Ukraine. Demanding that Biden supply legal assurances that Ukraine will not join NATO, Putin didn’t react well to Biden’s threats of punitive economic sanctions. “to deter Putin from enlarging his Ukrainian foothold now would require the U.S. and EU to put Putin on notice of far stronger sanctions that imposed in the wake of the Crimean takeover. The pain to Europe would be considerable. Even, then deterrence is not assured,” said Gary Hufbauer, sanctions expert a Washington-based Peterson Institute for International economics. Hofbauer, understands sanctions but he doesn’t understand how not to provoke Putin.
Western officials, including the war mongering press, needs to stop making fake accusations about Putin’s intentions with Ukraine. No one has been more clear than Putin telling Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that he’s only concerned about NATO encroachment in Ukraine. Putin clearly doesn’t want more Ukrainian territory unless NATO makes a move to supply soldiers and arms to Ukraine. Former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said punitive economic sanctions would be considered a “declaration of war. “ Biden’s treading on thin ice threatening Putin with a full range of economic sanctions, including blocking the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline or banning Russian banks from Swift, the global banking system conducting transactions for Russia’s energy sector. U.S. banned Iran from the system after pulling out of the Iranian Nuke Deal May 8, 2018.
Whatever the talk of punitive sanctions, it’s entirely premature and counterproductive because Putin has said openly he has no intent of invading Ukraine, except if NATO moves into the country. Even then, Putin has not said he’d take over Russia speaking parts of Donbass, where pro-Russian separatists want no part of the Kiev government. French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that Biden needs to tone down the rhetoric, de-escalate tensions and resolve any remaining issues with Ukraine through the Normandy format. No one in the EU or NATO wants to confront the Russian Federation on the battlefield, or, for that matter, with punitive economic sanctions. Putin supplies about 40% of the EU’s energy, a business relationship that Brussels has no intent of changing. So when it comes to Biden’s threats, the EU wants to give diplomacy a chance.
