Merkel under intense domestic pressure over anti-Russia policy: Expert
Sat Jan 17, 2015 6:46PM
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
An
American foreign policy expert says German Chancellor Angela Merkel is
under intense domestic pressure to take Berlin away from the US policy
on Russia.
“The announcement from Washington and London about maintaining sanctions on Russia because of Ukraine is no surprise,” James Jatras, former US Senate foreign policy analyst from Washington, said in an interview with Press TV on Saturday.
At a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron in the White House on Friday, US President Barack Obama said Washington and London have agreed to maintain “strong sanctions” on Russia over its alleged role in Ukraine's crisis.
Obama added that the sanctions against Russia will remain in place until Moscow ends its “aggression” in Ukraine.
Jatras said the announcement “comes at a time when there are increasing signals that the European countries… are really hurting financially because of the sanctions and are looking for a reason to start backing off on them.”
“Obviously, the key country is Germany. Chancellor Merkel at this point is still standing more or less with London and Washington, but she is under a lot of domestic pressure as well,” he added.
“So there’s a possibility that if the European countries are following their own interests and are not being dictated to from Washington that we may see a shift in a policy and a move toward a peaceful resolution, but that’s still an open question at this time,” he concluded.
The US and the EU have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow over what they call Russia’s involvement in Ukraine's conflict.
Washington accuses Moscow of arming and supporting pro-Russian forces fighting in the predominantly Russian-speaking areas in eastern Ukraine. Moscow calls the accusations "groundless."
GJH/HRJ
“The announcement from Washington and London about maintaining sanctions on Russia because of Ukraine is no surprise,” James Jatras, former US Senate foreign policy analyst from Washington, said in an interview with Press TV on Saturday.
At a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron in the White House on Friday, US President Barack Obama said Washington and London have agreed to maintain “strong sanctions” on Russia over its alleged role in Ukraine's crisis.
Obama added that the sanctions against Russia will remain in place until Moscow ends its “aggression” in Ukraine.
Jatras said the announcement “comes at a time when there are increasing signals that the European countries… are really hurting financially because of the sanctions and are looking for a reason to start backing off on them.”
“Obviously, the key country is Germany. Chancellor Merkel at this point is still standing more or less with London and Washington, but she is under a lot of domestic pressure as well,” he added.
“So there’s a possibility that if the European countries are following their own interests and are not being dictated to from Washington that we may see a shift in a policy and a move toward a peaceful resolution, but that’s still an open question at this time,” he concluded.
The US and the EU have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow over what they call Russia’s involvement in Ukraine's conflict.
Washington accuses Moscow of arming and supporting pro-Russian forces fighting in the predominantly Russian-speaking areas in eastern Ukraine. Moscow calls the accusations "groundless."
GJH/HRJ