US President Barack Obama speaking during a ceremony marking the ‘Freedom Day’ anniversary in Warsaw’s Castle Square last Wednesday. Photo: ReutersUS President Barack Obama’s visit to Europe last week was a symbolic, but nevertheless important reaffirmation of American commitment to the continent’s security, and served as a warning to Russia that it would face further consequences should it continue to destabilise Ukraine.
This notification to Moscow was re-emphasised by the leaders of the G7 group of nations meeting in Brussels later in the week who said they were prepared to impose additional sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
A joint statement by the G7 – which used to be the G8 before Russia was excluded over its actions in Ukraine – condemned Moscow for its “continuing violation” of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Despite the end of the Cold War, and the changing nature of the US-European alliance, the US continues to provide the European continent with an essential security pillar, principally through Nato. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, for example, it was Washington that took the initiative for Nato to stop the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo.
During his visit to Warsaw to celebrate, along with other European heads of State, the 25th anniversary of the fall of communism in Poland – an important gesture – President Obama condemned Russian “aggression” in Ukraine, saying the US will never accept Russia’s annexation of Crimea or its violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“As we’ve been reminded by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, our free nations cannot be complacent in pursuit of the vision we share – a Europe that is whole and free and at peace,” he told his audience in Poland, adding that in the past the Poles had been deserted by their friends.
The US and Nato played an important part in the collapse of the Berlin Wall and then US President Ronald Reagan deserves some credit for this, as does then US President George H. Bush who skilfully managed the end of communism in Europe as well as the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Poland was the first Communist country of the eastern bloc to hold free and fair elections in 1989 – an election which threw out communism – and Obama’s presence in Warsaw last week sent out an important message. After Poland, the rest of the group of eastern European countries followed suit with free elections.
Today, these countries, former members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, are members of Nato and the EU, and so are the three Baltic states, which formed part of the Soviet Union. Slovenia and Croatia, two former Yugoslav Republics are also in the EU and Nato, while Albania, formerly an isolated Communist country, is in Nato. This is a remarkable accomplishment – which Moscow is obviously still having difficulty coming to terms with – and one which should not be taken for granted.
In Warsaw, President Obama promised to ask the US Congress for $1 billion (€733m) to bolster European security. The fund, called the European Reassurance Initiative, will pay for additional military exercises in Europe. A number of US media reports also said this fund could also be used to aid the militaries of countries such as Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
So Obama’s message to Vladimir Putin and Russia was clear: the US will stand by its friends and allies and will not tolerate any attempt by Moscow to reclaim territories and interfere in other countries’ internal affairs. But how far he will go in Ukraine, despite all his good intentions and his $1 billion fund initiative, is not 100 per cent clear.
Ukraine is not a Nato member, and probably won’t be for a long time; EU membership for Kiev is a more realistic goal and would be a huge accomplishment in itself. Nobody expects the US to go to war with Russia over Ukraine – something unthinkable – even if there is a full Russian invasion of its neighbour, but Washington can make life very difficult for Moscow in such a scenario.
During a key foreign policy speech at the West Point Military Academy two weeks ago, President Obama said US military action cannot be the only – or even primary – component of America’s leadership in every instance. “Just because we have the best hammer does not mean every problem is a nail,” he said.
In fact, the US and EU have managed to isolate and hurt Russia over its actions in Ukraine through non-military means. The sanctions imposed on Moscow have certainly had an effect on the Russian economy and there has already been a flight of capital. Moscow’s exclusion from the G7 has without doubt hurt Moscow’s pride, and further sanctions on the already fragile Russian economy would surely hurt Moscow more than they would hurt Europe and the US.
As we’ve been reminded by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, our free nations cannot be complacent in pursuit of the vision we share- Barack Obama
President Obama and the rest of the G7 called on Russia to “seize the opportunity” to engage with the new government in Kiev and recognise Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who Obama met in Warsaw.
Putin and Poroshenko did meet briefly in Normandy on Friday during commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the two agreed that talks on a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine would start soon. Hopefuly this is a step in the right direction which could lead to a de-escalation of the crisis.
Obama was also in Normandy where he was joined by 18 other heads of State, including Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. On June 6, 1944, thousands of American, British and Canadian troops took part in the largest amphibious assault in history to liberate Europe from Nazism, and Obama’s presence in Normandy was a potent reminder of what America did for Europe.
• President Obama’s decision, through his executive authority, to introduce new rules to curb emissions from power plants is an important re-establishment of American leadership on climate change.
Former US vice president Al Gore, who has long campaigned for global action on climate change, described Obama’s executive order as “the most important step taken to combat the climate crisis in our country’s history”.
Obama’s new regulations oblige the US to reduce its carbon emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and were introduced by the President after five years of inaction by Congress. The President had previously already set new emissions rules for cars and future plant construction.
The new rules will hopefully have a positive impact on next year’s UN climate change summit in Paris.
Obama deserves credit for this important latest step on climate change which has the potential to bring about positive global developments. It is an important example of global US leadership and it could also be a key legacy of the Obama presidency.