I feel they’re dealing with it in addition to they are often, given the circumstances. Writ massive, what the administration is doing proper now’s definitely what I’d advocate doing. However I don’t know whether or not we are able to say if it’s going to work or not. The true take a look at goes to be over a protracted time frame. I don’t suppose that is going to be a brief, sharp disaster.
What do you imply?
Putin’s been attempting to get a grip on Ukraine for years now. They reduce off the gasoline to Ukraine in 2006. He’s been in energy for 22 years, and the entire of that point, he’s had Ukraine within the cross hairs a method or one other, and it’s intensified over time. Putin needs to be the one that, on his watch, in his presidency, pulls Ukraine again into Russia’s orbit. And he may very well be president till 2036, when it comes to what’s doable for him.
Is that this basically ideological for him, or geopolitical?
It’s about him personally — his legacy, his view of himself, his view of Russian historical past. Putin clearly sees himself as a protagonist in Russian historical past, and is placing himself within the place of earlier Russian leaders who’ve tried to assemble in what he sees because the Russian land. Ukraine is the outlier, the one which bought away that he’s bought to carry again.
And does that imply that he’s behaving irrationally right here?
No, I don’t suppose he’s being irrational in any respect, from his perspective. He’s in a distinct body from the place we’re. He’s dwelling in historical past and his narrative of historical past. He additionally is an element of a bigger group of safety folks in Russia who’ve been against NATO enlargement; they need the U.S. out of Europe.
However it looks as if he’s made his safety scenario worse.
That’s from our perspective, on the skin. We don’t know precisely what he’s saying internally. From his standpoint proper now, he’s put the squeeze on Ukraine and the Ukrainian economic system is getting crushed. He’s bought all of our consideration. We’re all operating round doing nothing however discuss him. As he would say, he’s bought us listening to him now. Whether or not we’re listening to him on the phrases that he needs us to is one other matter.