U.S. Pushes Last-Ditch Effort to Ease Ukraine Crisis

The Wall Street Journal ^ | 12 March 2014 | Carol E. Lee and

[Errant]

The U.S. launched a last-ditch effort Wednesday to avert a potentially costly diplomatic crisis with Moscow ahead of a vote Sunday in Crimea on whether the region should leave Ukraine and return to Russia.

Top Obama administration officials sought to ramp up the pressure on Moscow even as they braced for a possible diplomatic failure. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia "may well" end up annexing the restive region, and began to focus on steps Moscow could take to slow the process.

The mood in Washington had an 11th-hour feel. Mr. Kerry planned a hasty diplomatic trip to London to meet his Russian counterpart on Friday—two days before the fateful referendum—while the administration's warnings took on an even more dire tone.

[Errant]

"Mr. Kerry told lawmakers that if Russia made the wrong decisions and the West turned to punitive sanctions, things could "get ugly fast" and "in multiple directions.""

[Navy Patriot]

Careful, or Kerry will shoot himself in the ass again.

[mrsmith]

Is it the five years of Hillary’s or Obama’s neglect and incomptence the media is distracting everyone from?
Well, both of course.

[goldstategop]

I don’t think Sergei Lavrov will be in the mood for a lecture. Russia is going to present its own counter-proposals Friday. A compromise appears slim since the two sides are far apart.

John F. Kerry has met his match. The way this goes depends on whether the West wants a partner or an adversary in Russia. And in addressing this crisis, Russian interests cannot be sidelined.

[Errant]

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

LOL. He ain’t no Patton.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Herman Munster go home !

[pierrem15]

Russia has no legitimate interests in this affair: this is naked aggression, nothing else.

[1_Rain_Drop]

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia "may well" end up annexing the restive region,"

Hey Kerry, while you're at it, how about giving them Alaska and Brighton Beach?

[tcrlaf]

“Russia has no legitimate interests in this affair: this is naked aggression, nothing else.”

?????

It is in their backyard, they have the largest part of the Navy based there, the only blue-water port, a major part of the nation’s revenues come via pipelines in Ukraine, and a large part of the population are native-speaking Russians, that used to be citizens.

Yep, no interests whatsoever. Wake up.

[Graewoulf]

Ukraine will be relegated to be a landlocked Country, and mainly used to safely transport Oil and Gas out of Russia.

Russia has a long history of feeling secure when it has friendly or neutral Nations on its periphery.

Ukraine has had the misfortune of a corrupt President who robbed them into poverty.

While Obamanation is descending, Russia is ascending: Russia is now free to do what is best for Russia.

A Neutral Ukraine would reduce risk to the Oil and Gas pipelines that are used by Russia in Ukraine.

Ukraine could then become the Switzerland of the Eastern Front for Europe.

[pierrem15]

I said no legitimate interests: the naval port was secured by treaty already (a treaty which guaranteed Ukraine's territorial integrity), and there certainly has not been any mistreatment of the Russian population.

This is naked aggression, the first such aggression since the 1930's.

Is Ukraine simply a Russian colony?