Boston Herald March 01, 2014

Putin defies Obama, troops take Crimea

By Antonio Planas

Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops took over Crimea yesterday, defying President Obama's warnings to stand down and dramatically raising the stakes in a showdown where the United States has limited military and political options, experts say.

Some 15,000 Russian troops were in Crimea after the Russian parliament greenlighted Putin's request to put boots on the ground — a move the U.S. condemned, calling for Moscow to withdraw its forces. Russia's parliament also recommended that Moscow recall its ambassador from Washington.

There is little more, other than sanctions, that the West can do, said Harlow Robinson, a history professor at Northeastern University and an expert on Russia.

"The U.S. has very little leverage here," Robinson said. "We have to deal with Putin in other places like Syria and Iran. You can't afford to alienate him. … There could be economic sanctions, but military intervention is completely out of the question and would be a huge mistake."

In a 90-minute call with Putin yesterday, Obama expressed his "deep concern" about "Russia's clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity." Obama told Putin that Russia's latest moves would lead to greater political and economic isolation. That followed Obama's threat Friday that there would be unspecified "costs" for Russian military intervention in Ukraine.

David Kotz, an economic professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and expert on Russian politics, said Obama is treading lightly because the U.S. does not want to start a war near Russia's home turf.

"What can the U.S. government do? This is right on Russia's border," Kotz said. "That's why Obama is being very cautious, it's not strategically favorable ground for the U.S."

Putin is pushing Obama around, said John Pike, director with Globalsecurity.org — a direct result of his administration's dwindling credibility because it failed to take military action against Syria after its president was accused of chemical warfare on his own people.

"No one is afraid of us anymore," Pike said. "What is the point of having the largest army if no one is afraid you're going to use it?"

Top Obama officials met at the White House to frame their response, while Secretary of State John F. Kerry was at his house on Beacon Hill. A State Department official said that Kerry participated in a national security council meeting with Obama, a conference call with counterparts and made a series of other calls. Kerry last night condemned what he called "the Russian Federation's invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory."

Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, yesterday said he had ordered the country's armed forces to be at full readiness because of the threat of "potential aggression." Pro-Russian demonstrations broke out in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east, where protesters raised Russian flags and attacked supporters of the new Ukrainian regime.

The U.N. Security Council met in an open, televised session but did not take any action. Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.N. Yuriy Sergeyev asked the Security Council "to do everything possible now" to stop what he called Russian "aggression." But broader international action through the United Nations seems all but impossible because of Russia, as a member of the Security Council, has veto power.

Walter D. Connor, an international relations professor at Boston University and expert in U.S.-Russian relations, said Putin's request to parliament to use troops opened the door to Russian military movements throughout Ukraine.

"They made that particular point. They did not just use the word 'Crimea,' they used the word 'Ukraine,' " he said. "That can carry a whole different set of implications."

Connor said the U.S. must proceed with caution militarily but has to strike now economically against Russia.

"Whatever automatic economic sanctions are available to us, it's time for them to kick in," he said.

Herald wire services contributed to this report