From the time that ex-U.S. President George W. Bush looked into then-Russian President Vladimir Putin’s eyes, U.S. foreign policy towards Russia has been unprincipled and shortsighted. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) sacrificed Ukraine to Russia in return for Russian support against Iran, which has not been forthcoming. The U.S. did support a membership action plan for Ukraine’s admission into NATO but that support was lukewarm at best, with no counter to Germany’s and France’s opposition.
U.S. President Barrack Obama visited Russia last year, failed to stop over in Ukraine and sent U.S. Vice President Joe Biden as evidence of Ukraine’s secondary relevance in US perception. Biden offered perfunctory rhetorical assurances, but given his proclivity for oratorical misstatement, his words were given little weight. Finally, Obama surrendered democracy in Ukraine for President Viktor Yanukovych’s pledge to turn over Ukraine’s uranium to Russia, no less. All this time Russia and, in particular, its rising emperor, be it president or prime minister, Putin has been focused on renewed empire.
The United States should show some integrity at this precarious time and warn Russia to step back from Ukraine. That is wishful thinking. The Ukrainian people need not be reminded, as so often in their history, they must fend for themselves. The U.S., however, might find itself in another cold war with a renewed empire, ultimately, with no one to blame but itself.
Askold S. Lozynskyj is a New York attorney and former president of the Ukrainian World Congress.
