Putin unfazed by West’s isolation
Russian leader still on world stage
WASHINGTON – Russia’s Vladimir Putin won’t be on the guest list when President Barack Obama and other world leaders assemble in Germany this week, as part of the punishment for alleged Kremlin-supported aggression in Ukraine.
Yet the Russian president remains a central player in international affairs, including the U.S.-led nuclear talks with Iran, even with the pledge by Western leaders to try to isolate Putin while the crisis in Ukraine persists.
Just this month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Moscow for talks with Putin and Secretary of State John Kerry went to Sochi to confer with him. Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke by telephone in recent days and agreed to resume talks aimed at ending Syria’s civil war, where Putin’s cooperation also is crucial.
U.S. officials say the engagement is limited to areas where Moscow and the West have shared interests. Outreach to Putin on such matters, officials argue, should not be seen as a sign that the West has accepted the status quo in Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists continue to stoke instability.
“It makes sense to cooperate where there is a clear mutual interest as long as you’re not being asked to back off matters of principle that matter to the security and well-being of your country and your allies and your friends,” Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday.
The West’s clearest pressure point is the Russian economy. The ruble has stabilized after a dramatic freefall last year that was attributed to both falling oil prices and the West’s economic penalties. Still, Russia’s economy remains shaky.
It appears unlikely, however, that the U.S. and Europe will toughen sanctions without a major increase in Russian aggression. European nations with strong financial ties with Russia fear the sanctions could damage their own economies.
When Obama meets with European leaders at this week’s Group of Seven summit in Germany, he is expected to press them to renew sanctions set to expire this summer. Russia was invited to join the bloc of leading industrial nations in 1998 and remained a member until last year when the original members suspended its participation in retaliation for its actions in Ukraine.