What does the Ukraine crisis mean to Washington?
- By Xu Qinduo
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E-mail CRI, February 15, 2015
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Ukraine crisis [By Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn] |
The storyline of the Ukraine crisis is rather clear: the U.S. and Europe try to snatch Ukraine out of the Russian orbit; Moscow and the Russian-speaking rebels in east Ukraine are up in arms to fight back. The crisis has been going on for a year and it is yet to see the end of the conflicts.
The war and diplomatic wrestle over Ukraine is brutal, leaving serious consequences to parties involved. Ukraine is devastated. It lost Crimea permanently and is losing control of eastern regions.
Russia is bleeding due to sanctions as well as the sliding oil prices. Biting economic and financial sanctions are driving the Russian ruble into a free fall. Sagging global oil prices cut deep into its financial strength. Rating agencies have downgraded Russia to a junk status for the first time in a decade.
European nations are not much better either. Besides struggling with the endless debt crisis and a possible Greece exit from euro zone, major nations see their trade in a miserable state partly due to the backfire from sanctions imposed on Russia while small countries suffer more from counter-measures by Moscow. German export to Russia has been in decline, leading to the insolvency of many small family businesses. France, under the pressure from Washington, had to suspend the delivery of two warships built for Russia.
But there's one party which goes as an exception: Washington.
The United States encouraged and espoused the Maidan square protest which toppled the democratically-elected former President Viktor Yanukovych. Washington was suspected of directing the drama as top U.S. officials were heard on phone planning the composition of future Ukrainian government. No wonder the Russians accuse Washington of instigating the revolution to overthrow a government they dislike.
Professor John J. Mearsheimer at the University of Chicago put it bluntly that the Ukraine crisis is the fault of the West with the enlargement of NATO, the U.S.-led military block, and attempts to integrate Ukraine into their camp.
Different from Russia and Europe who stand to lose substantially as the conflicts intensifies in Ukraine, Washington is actually gaining a few strategic leverages.
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