Philadelphia Inquirer Columnist Trudy Rubin quotes Transatlantic Relations Program Senior Fellow Adrian Karatnycky on how to change Vladimir Putin’s calculus in Europe’s East:
The idea is not to go to war with Russia, but to convince Putin that he faces serious consequences should he invade Ukraine proper – or try to annex bits of other small, ex-communist neighboring nations. I agree with Atlantic Council fellow Adrian Karatnycky, just returned from Ukraine, who says, “Putin won’t be smart until he sees real pushback. He only respects power.”
So far, the signals from the West have been too weak to impress the Russian leader. True, U.S. visa restrictions and asset freezes on a few of Putin’s oligarch cronies have unsettled Russia’s stock market and given foreign investors jitters.
But European nations, heavily dependent on Russian gas, investment, and markets, have been far more timid. Yet Europe is in a good position to do far more.