Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Ukraine crisis: NATO suspends cooperation with Moscow
Members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) met in Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday for the first time since Russia invaded the Crimean peninsula. The outcome: NATO will suspend all "practical civilian and military cooperation" with Russia. However, contact will continue between NATO and the Russian Council on the ambassadorial level and above in order to exchange views and hopefully end up with a compromise. The decision came with the belief that the NATO alliance takes very seriously the Russian attempt to use force to alter a country's borders. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen went as far as saying that Russia's aggression "is the gravest threat to European security in a generation." What do you think about NATO's decision? Will it affect the conflict going on in the Ukraine or should the leaders have been harder on the Russians?
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This is a good decision by NATO, almost like the economic sanctions and whatnot and all that stuff the UN threatened to impose on Russia. Threatening them's not all, though. NATO actually will have to carry this out so Russia feels the effects from losing "civilian and military cooperation." Whatever that means, I'm not quite sure, but isolating Russia and ceasing alliances with them is a start to helping fix the debacle with Crimea.
ReplyDeleteI think that this was the right decision that needed to be made. I agree with Kevin, that we will have to wait and see if these decisions will actually be carried out in full. I think Russia is becoming aggressive so action should be taken, but I also think it is good to keep the communication and diplomacy bridges open.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what my classmates have already said, it was a good decision but whether it will be carried out is the real question. It's crazy to think about what a different position our country would be in if we were not so geographically isolated. It's amazing what the oceans which isolate us have done to influence our history, and how lucky we are to have so many more defenses against invasions as opposed to many of the European countries.
ReplyDeleteNATO made a good decision, but as my classmates have said, it's nearly impossible to tell whether it will be carried out. I think the leaders were hard enough on the Russians, for if they had been any harsher, it would be difficult to keep an eye on what is going on there. Communication is key in situations such as this. I hope Russia's aggression dies down, and the conflict in Ukraine clears up quickly. There is no perfect solution, but NATO took a step in the right direction.
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ReplyDeleteRussia is definitely kicking Ukraine while they are already down. Not only have they invaded the border between Russia and Ukraine, but they have ridiculously increased the cost of natural gas. Ukraine is in a very difficult situation, especially with their economic troubles. However, it is good to see other countries coming to the aid of Ukraine. The country will definitely need the assistance, even if Russia removes their troops.
ReplyDeleteJust as everyone has said, NATO made the right decision as far as we're concerned right now. The real think to pay attention to is whether these actions do or do not get carried out. From the information given in the article it seems promising that NATO will carry out these actions, but there are no guarantees. This is an issue I intend to follow and see where it leads.
ReplyDeleteI think pressure on the government in Russia is just what is needed in this situation. It needs to be known that troops on the Ukrainian border will not be tolerated, and the fact that NATO is making this pressure apparent will hopefully leave an impression. I am really interested to see what the next step will be in this issue, and more specially how the Russian government will respond. I really do hope that it can be solved quickly and that Ukraine can get the assistance it needs to rebuild itself and its economy.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. NATO did the right thing by suspending cooperation with Russia. As Casey said I think pressure is just what Russia needs. Hopefully this pressure from the international community will push them into doing the right thing. I also think Germany as well as the rest of Europe and the United States should hold Russia to their word on that they'll begin to pull out troops from the Ukrainian border.
ReplyDeleteWell like everyone is saying, this decision seems to be a step in the right direction, but I hope the promise isn't empty. I think what Anna said about our isolation is interesting--because involvement in organizations such as NATO now ensures that we aren't isolated from current events outside our own sphere. As much as we need to focus on our own domestic policy, ignoring outside news could be dangerous. If this truly is “the gravest threat to European security in a generation and it challenges our vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace,” I'm glad the House took action this past Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteLike many others in the class, I believe that the idea was good. However, I don't know if it will be executed correctly. Russia should most definitely be held to what they have said that they would do. I think foreign affairs are an important issue and deserve our attention. Today's foreign affairs could be tomorrow's domestic problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what has been said that NATO has obviously made the right decision in taking steps against Russia in helping Ukraine. Not only has Russia invaded Ukraine but they are also taking economic measures with natural gas prices that will continue to cripple the economy if nothing is done about it. I think European countries have every right to be concerned since Russia has taken such aggressive measures, and hopefully in the near future the conflict will be able to be resolved.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I agree that NATO has made the right decision, but it will be interesting to see if they will do everything they say they are going to. With Russia becoming aggressive, I think that this pressure is just what is needed to help better this situation and I am interested to see how things will play out.
ReplyDeleteI believe that NATO made a good decision when it suspended its cooperation with Moscow because of the developing situation inside of Ukraine. The fact that Russia has gotten as far as it has without any severe consequences is appalling. They tread over treaties that were made after the dissolution of Soviet Union promising that the new government of Russia would stay out of the many Slavonic states they repressed. Putin needs to be punished more than with just sanctions and being removed from the G8 summit, which is now the G7.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that NATO decided to take a stand against Russia's aggressive actions. I hope that NATOs actions at least minimally debilitate Russia so that they cannot attack Ukraine any longer. If NATO's attempts are not enough then hopefully other measures will be taken to get this invasion issue under control.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with NATO's stance on Russia's agression. I think that large scale military action by world powers should be quelmed as i believe that the world cannot withstand another world war. But it is also important that our relationship with Russia remain civil in order to prevent any hostility between nations. The future will depend on how Russia will react to the action, hopefully it will not respond in an aggresive manner or further action will be needed.
ReplyDeleteMilitary action is a slippery slope, if NATO intervenes, we would certainly be opening the floodgates for total war. Conversly, failure to act now could result in a failure to cease Russia's zeal for aquiring territory. Personally, I believe military action should be avoided at all costs in this scenario. The powers in play here are too large to be contained to the minute portion of land that is the Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteThe article stated that NATO will suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia. So that doesn't mean that aggressive military action will be taken. I agree with Max that military action should be avoided. The forces at play here are too volatile to pursue military action. Russia is a huge super power that the U.S. needs to learn how to work with (and vice versa). This will undoubtedly be a long journey to sincere communication and cooperation but I think that it must continually be attempted.
ReplyDeleteStraight up I'll be honest, I hate Russia. If they make any aggressive move towards us I wouldn't mind if we bombed the whole country. But I'm a civil man, and civil actions can still fix this issue and NATO has the right approach.
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