So far, the Administration is focused on sanctions to make Russia change course in the Crimea and elsewhere. While Putin is a backward-looking leader who may yearn for the old Soviet Union, there are real reasons for Russian concern. The Russian Black Sea fleet is headquartered in the Crimea and there is certainly a Russian need to protect their security interests. In the eastern portions of the Ukraine, there are Russian speakers and loyalists who might fear discrimination by the European-leaning government headquartered in Kiev.
Perhaps it is time to propose a rational solution in the Ukraine. First, the UN/UN Security council could propose peace-keeping forces in the region to protect the eastern Ukraine population from any excesses by the Kiev government. Secondly, we could recognize that increasing security forces around Russian installations in the Crimea is not counter-productive. That does not mean that we should recognize a Russian takeover of the Crimea. Third, we could propose regional elections in the Ukraine to allow people in different provinces to control their own destiny and we should be willing to provide UN peacekeepers to avoid ethnic strife regardless of the election outcome. Fourth, the Kiev government needs to act to lessen ethnic tensions in Eastern Ukraine and the Crimea.
It is time to dial-down the rhetoric and dial-up the statesmanship.
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