Why The White House Won't Commit To Keeping Crimea In Ukraine
By DYLAN BYERS |
3/6/14 3:36 PM EST
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney will not say that the United States is committed to keeping Crimea in Ukraine, yet another signal to foreign policy experts that the U.S. may allow the peninsula to come under Russian control in order to preserve negotiations on Iran.
When asked at Thursday's press briefing if the White House "was not giving up Crimea," Carney replied: "Crimea is a part of Ukraine, the sovereign state of Ukraine. ... Any decisions about the status of a region or province within Ukraine would have to be made in accordance with the Ukrainian constitution."
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If the Obama administration seems reluctant to give an unequivocal answer on the issue, it's because they recognize that giving Crimea to Russia may be the best option for containing the current crisis and maintaining ongoing efforts in Iran (as well as Syria).
David Rothkopf, the CEO and editor of The Foreign Policy Group, predicted on Thursday that Crimea would vote to join Russia, launching diplomatic talks that would freeze the crisis and allow the U.S. to continue its efforts in the Middle East, for which Russian support is crucial.
"For the United States, the key administration initiative for the next year is certainly Iran. Russia is key to helping that through (as it is to any Syria solution)," Rothkopf wrote in an email. "So a real meltdown in the relationship would take away one of the great foreign policy priorities of the Obama team."
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http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/03/why-the-white-house-wont-commit-to-keeping-crimea-184662.html
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