Masum Billah :
The powerful leaders of the world have expressed their reaction against Russia’s annexation of Crimea through a declaration that Russia should be out from G-8. US President Barack Obama took the lead in this move. Other leaders of the world’s largest industrialized countries took the decision to expel Russia from the Group of Eight until it “changes course” in Ukraine and formally canceled plans to attend an economic summit in Russia in June. The move was aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plan to host the G-8 group of economic powers at Sochi, Russia, which would have been its second starring role on the world stage after this winter’s Olympics.The move to suspend Russia’s membership in the G8 is the latest direct response from major countries allied against Russia’s annexation of Crimea. They argue that international law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state’s territory through coercion or force. The group thinks that they have come together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities. The leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States say that Russian’s actions against Crimea are not consistent with the aims and beliefs of G-8 Group they want to call it “The Hague Declaration.” In a nod to political and economic reforms, the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy added Russia to their group in 1998 transforming it from the G7 to the G8.Russia expresses its response to this decision thus ‘ being kicked out of G8 would be no big deal.G8 is an informal organization that does not give out any membership cards and, by its definition, cannot remove anyone. All the economic and financial questions are decided in G20, and G8 has the purpose of existence as the forum of dialogue between the leading Western countries and Russia. Russia was not attached to this format and we don’t see a great misfortune if it will not gather. Maybe, for a year or two, it will be an experiment for us to see how we live without it.’
Obama’s former ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, urged the administration to intensify its policy of isolating Putin.”Mr. Putin’s Russia has no real allies. We must keep it that way”.
A senior Obama administration said Obama and other leaders agreed that further steps to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin could include sanctions on energy, banking and defense sectors — all areas where Europe is deeply engaged economically with Russia.Those additional sanctions could be prompted if Russia further escalates its incursion into Ukraine, which the official defined as sending troops beyond Crimea into the southern or eastern parts of the country. While the official said further penetration of Ukraine by Russian troops remains the most immediate source of concern for the United States, other potential land grabs also worry the United States and its allies .NATO has also expressed concern that Russia could attempt to reclaim a region of Moldova. Russian foreign minister Lavrov met with John Kerry and said Russia’s action in Crimea was necessary.”It was the necessity to protect Russians who live there and who lived there for centuries,” “And when our partners compare Crimea to Kosovo, because in Kosovo a lot of blood was shed then its independence was proclaimed. So we have a question then: Is it necessary for the blood to be shed in Crimea to agree on the right of the people in Crimea for self-determination?” Obama also met with President Xi Jinping of China at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Amsterdam. Obama told Xi that although Beijing is unlikely to endorse sanctions, “China’s interest should be in working with us to de-escalate the situation in a way that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”Xi did say that China wants to see a “political resolution to the conflict,” Rhodes said, and the U.S. considers it “constructive” that China has refrained from supporting Russia’s move. China proposed an international co-ordination mechanism for solving the crisis and urged all related parties not to do anything “that might lead to the further deterioration of the situation,”
The powerful leaders’ move against Russian seems symbolic but still it retains importance. McFaul thinks Putin understands that he’s growing isolated and is bracing for a possible military engagement with NATO forces at some point. He’s focused on consolidating and digging in for confrontation with the West.The reaction to the illegal occupation of Crimea is not going to be brief. This is going to be ongoing pressure to indicate that a large part of the world community is simply never going to accept this because it is a precedent that is just too dangerous for global peace and security.This clear violation of international law is a serious challenge to the rule of law around the world and should be a concern for all nations. Through expulsion Russia is reminded of its international obligations and its responsibilities, including those for the world economy. Russia has a clear choice to make. Diplomatic avenues to de-escalate the situation remain open, and the Russian government is encouraged to take them.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeated been criticized by many leaders of the world for his takeover of Crimea. Russia is formally annexing the region, arguing it is a traditionally Russian territory. For Ukraine, the consequences of the actions of the Putin regime are obvious and can only be remedied by their complete reversal. John Harper said.”Furthermore, all of us who desire peace and stability in the world must recognize that the consequences of these actions will be felt far beyond the borders of Ukraine or even the European continent itself.”Harper accuses Russia of not only wrongfully seizing the Crimean peninsula but setting back the cause of nuclear disarmament. Russia guaranteed Ukraine’s territorial integrity in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. In return for that assurance, Ukraine agreed to give up the nuclear arsenal it inherited after the break-up of the former Soviet Union.
This declaration also gives a message to leaders is that the world needs a new global security system to respond in a strong and rapid manner when countries find their sovereignty and territorial integrity under threat. The debate over how to punish Moscow within the G7 bloc of leading western nations and Japan reflects tensions between them over how far they can go in imposing sanctions on Russia while still remaining unified. One G7 foreign minister, however, said there was “broad unity” among G7 members to avoid escalating the crisis and most countries opposed pushing Russia out of the group.The differences over whether to take even a largely symbolic action, such as throwing Russia out of the G8, underlines how the west is struggling to counter Mr Putin’s annexation of Crimea, regarded as the most serious threat to stability in Europe since the end of the cold war.
(Masum Billah is Program Manager : BRAC Education Program and Vice-President: Bangladesh English Language Teachers Association (BELTA). Currently staying at Freetown, Sierra Leone. Email: [email protected] )
