Obama gives diplomacy another shot in Ukraine crisis
- POSTED: 10 Feb 2015 10:35
- UPDATED: 10 Feb 2015 16:52
US President Barack Obama is giving diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis another chance. He has been considering providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, but after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington, he said he will "wait and see".
US President Barack Obama (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) hold a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (AFP/SAUL LOEB)
WASHINGTON: German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in
Washington with a message - sending Western weapons to Kiev risks
escalating the conflict there.
It is a line that fell on sympathetic ears at the White House, with US President Barack Obama being known for his cautious approach to foreign policy.
Mr Obama did go further than Mrs Merkel, leaving the door open for the possibility of arming Ukraine. However, he made it clear that he will not be rushed into a decision. "The prospect for a military solution to this problem has always been low," said Mr Obama.
"If in fact diplomacy fails, what I have asked my team to do is to look at all options. What other means can we put in place to change Mr Putin’s calculus? And the possibility of lethal defensive weapons is one of those options that is being examined. But I have not made a decision yet."
Meanwhile, the German chancellor spoke in passionate terms about her preference for a negotiated settlement: "The French President and I have decided to make one further attempt to make progress through diplomatic means... I would not be able to live with myself not having made this attempt."
The press conference here at the White House was mainly about a show of unity between the two leaders amid continuing diplomatic activity surrounding events in Ukraine. Russian-speaking Angela Merkel has been at the forefront of that activity, and President Obama must now decide whether to go along with her peace plan, slap more sanctions on Moscow or supply weapons to the Ukrainians.
Experts said that the president is hoping Mrs Merkel's peace plan will work. Mr Stephen Szabo, executive director of the Transatlantic Academy at the German Marshall Fund of the US, said: "She symbolizes and embodies his whole approach to Europe - which is that Europeans should take on more responsibility for Europe and for the problems in their neighbourhood.
"Clearly he would very much like to see her succeed. Because if not, the US gets pulled back into what could be a very dangerous conflict and confrontation with Russia, which is still a nuclear power."
However, there are many foreign policy hawks in the Republican-controlled US Congress who are pressuring the president not to back away from confrontation.
US Republican Senator John McCain is one of them. He said: "If we help Ukrainians increase the military cost to the Russian forces that have invaded their country, how long can Putin sustain a war that he tells his people is not happening? That's why we must provide defensive arms to Ukraine."
Meanwhile, the German Chancellor glossed over the previously thorny topic of the US National Security Agency snooping on her phone - keen was she to present a united front with President Obama.
As Wednesday's talks in Minsk approach, neither wish to show any cracks in what has been a fairly solid display of transatlantic unity thus far.
It is a line that fell on sympathetic ears at the White House, with US President Barack Obama being known for his cautious approach to foreign policy.
Mr Obama did go further than Mrs Merkel, leaving the door open for the possibility of arming Ukraine. However, he made it clear that he will not be rushed into a decision. "The prospect for a military solution to this problem has always been low," said Mr Obama.
"If in fact diplomacy fails, what I have asked my team to do is to look at all options. What other means can we put in place to change Mr Putin’s calculus? And the possibility of lethal defensive weapons is one of those options that is being examined. But I have not made a decision yet."
Meanwhile, the German chancellor spoke in passionate terms about her preference for a negotiated settlement: "The French President and I have decided to make one further attempt to make progress through diplomatic means... I would not be able to live with myself not having made this attempt."
The press conference here at the White House was mainly about a show of unity between the two leaders amid continuing diplomatic activity surrounding events in Ukraine. Russian-speaking Angela Merkel has been at the forefront of that activity, and President Obama must now decide whether to go along with her peace plan, slap more sanctions on Moscow or supply weapons to the Ukrainians.
Experts said that the president is hoping Mrs Merkel's peace plan will work. Mr Stephen Szabo, executive director of the Transatlantic Academy at the German Marshall Fund of the US, said: "She symbolizes and embodies his whole approach to Europe - which is that Europeans should take on more responsibility for Europe and for the problems in their neighbourhood.
"Clearly he would very much like to see her succeed. Because if not, the US gets pulled back into what could be a very dangerous conflict and confrontation with Russia, which is still a nuclear power."
However, there are many foreign policy hawks in the Republican-controlled US Congress who are pressuring the president not to back away from confrontation.
US Republican Senator John McCain is one of them. He said: "If we help Ukrainians increase the military cost to the Russian forces that have invaded their country, how long can Putin sustain a war that he tells his people is not happening? That's why we must provide defensive arms to Ukraine."
Meanwhile, the German Chancellor glossed over the previously thorny topic of the US National Security Agency snooping on her phone - keen was she to present a united front with President Obama.
As Wednesday's talks in Minsk approach, neither wish to show any cracks in what has been a fairly solid display of transatlantic unity thus far.
- CNA/ac
