A continued provocation by Russia has led many European leaders to look across the Atlantic Ocean for reassurance. This Monday, 3/9/15, the president of the European Council, Mr. Donald Tusk, will meet with President Obama in Washington. The objective of this meeting is to illustrate to the world that the European Union and the United States of America stand together when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine as well as Russia’s geopolitical objectives in that region, despite the fact that the EU seems to have some internal tears when it comes to these developments.
While the Ukrainian crisis will be one of the main points that the two leaders will discuss, other topics on the agenda will include: the ISIL conflict, the situation in countries on the EU’s southern border, passing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TIPP) by the end of this year, as well as the economic situation and energy security.
The purpose of these talks is to strongly reaffirm to Russia that the EU and USA are coordinating their actions when it comes to the Ukrainian conflict and Russia’s involvement in it. Furthermore, a recent videoconference between President Obama and other high-ranking EU officials was supposed to make the same point. Unless the EU and USA see an improvement in the situation in eastern Ukraine then the sanctions will not be lifted.
While through sanctions the EU and USA attempt to illustrate a uniformed front on this issue, the crisis in eastern Ukraine does not seem to be improving. The façade of unity is certainly not resolving the conflict. The EU itself has a hard time agreeing on a uniform strategy towards Russia. The current left-wing government in Greece seems to be leaning pro-Russia. Furthermore, at the end of February Cyprus and Russia reached an agreement in regards to collaborative work on the economic and security spheres. Finally, according to the commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, Frederick Hodges, the US should send American tanks to be strategically placed along NATO’s eastern flank. This is supposed to serve as a deterrent against any hybrid-war like the one that is currently going on in eastern Ukraine.
What all of these different approaches illustrate is the lack of coordination when it comes to resolving the Ukrainian conflict. If the EU and USA cannot present a uniform front on addressing these quasi-wars then what will happen if this type of war spreads to a NATO member? If this conflict goes unresolved it will open up “gray” areas within the NATO alliance, which can shake the very foundation on which NATO was founded—international security. It is in the USA’s best interest to become more involved when it comes to what is happening in eastern Ukraine and the European continent. After all, the EU and the USA have significant economic ties that define the shape of the global economy as a whole, so the stability of both regions should be in the best interest of both parties.
This post was written by a student enrolled in the Capstone Seminar course in the undergraduate program in public policy at Hunter College. Any opinions expressed here are solely those of the student.
