No return to the way things were

No return

Russia will not reform under Putin's watch, as some in the West once hoped. He blames the West for Russia's ills and wallows in victimhood. But he avoids reforming the economic system he created, and perceives steps towards embedding the rule of law, accountable government and more open markets around Russia's neighborhood as threats to his and Russia's power.

If the choice now is between trying to bring President Putin gradually in from the cold, or containing his worst instincts towards Russia's European neighbors, the latter is the only rational answer.

Europe and the United States should not accept the way Crimea was annexed into Russia, and should be prepared and willing to apply major economic sanctions should Putin raise the stakes again over Ukraine or Transnistria. Over time, Ukraine should be integrated into EU markets through the completion of the Association Agreement along with substantial financial support.

There can be no return for Putin to the G8 or business-as-usual in NATO until Russian economic and military threats against its European neighbors are lifted and a mutually acceptable solution is found to Crimea's status.

Putin's actions are not a response to European and American provocations. He has painted himself into a corner with a combination of strategic paranoia, dreams of Russian revanche and economic illiteracy. As it seeks to present a strong and united response, the West can ill afford to blame itself.

The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of Robin Niblett.

end quote from:

 Opinion: The West must not blame itself for Putin's revanchism

 

People who think Putin will go back to "Business as usual" are sadly mistaken. This is a man who feels it is "his Destiny" to return Russia to it's former greatness. This is not a man that anyone  should underestimate because of what he has already done and told people he wasn't actually doing it.

One could call him a "criminal" if he wasn't a great Russian political figure. However, it might be time to start to compare him to leaders like Stalin and Hitler to make more sense of what is actually going on now.