EUROPE
Obama, Meeting With Merkel on Ukraine Crisis, Keeps Military Aid Option Open
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and ANDREW HIGGINS FEB. 9, 2015
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Obama said the alliance between the United States and Europe remained strong, despite potential disagreements on whether to provide arms to Ukraine.
Publish Date February 9, 2015. Photo by Stephen Crowley/The New York Times.
WASHINGTON — President Obama said he was weighing providing lethal weapons to Ukraine to help Kiev defend against Russia’s aggression if diplomatic efforts fail to defuse the tensions there, even as he said the United States remained united with Europe in maintaining sanctions against Moscow.
“The prospect for a military solution to this problem has always been low,” Mr. Obama said, given the extraordinarily powerful military that is at the disposal of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, and the length of Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Nevertheless, at a joint news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany at the White House Monday, the president said it was clear a set of steep sanctions against Russia “has not yet dissuaded Mr. Putin from following the course that he is on.” He said that had prompted him to ask his team to “look at all options,” including providing an array of defensive weapons to bolster Ukraine’s forces.
Most European countries, including Germany and France, oppose sending arms, arguing that doing so would only make the conflict worse.
“We CONTINUE to pursue a diplomatic solution, although we have suffered a lot of setbacks,” Ms. Merkel said. “I’ve always said I don’t see a military solution to this conflict.”
The issue has threatened to cleave what has until now been a united front among the United States and its European allies over how to respond to the Ukrainian conflict, which has been stoked by a steady supply of weapons and soldiers from Russia.
Many European capitals share Washington’s distrust of Mr. Putin, but continue to hope that the pressure of economic sanctions will lead him to accept some sort of settlement.
Despite their possible differences on weapons, Mr. Obama and Ms. Merkel worked to project a unified front.
“Russian aggression has only reinforced the unity between the United States, Germany and other European allies,” the president said. “There’s going to continue to be a strong, unified response between the United States and Europe — that’s not going to change.”
The two leaders spoke after European foreign ministers agreed to postpone imposing a new round of sanctions against Russia, hoping to avert a rift with the United States over sending arms and to nudge forward so far fruitless talks with Moscow.
Diplomats who attended Monday’s meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels said that Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, had proposed delaying new sanctions for a few days after a request for a pause from the leadership in Kiev.
Ukraine had previously lobbied Europe to take tough action against Moscow, but apparently now worries that further moves might jeopardize efforts for a truce with rapidly advancing pro-Russian rebels. Such an accord could be reached at a possible meeting later this week among the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.
European governments decided to expand the list of sanctioned individuals who are facing asset freezes and travel bans after pro-Russian rebels mounted a rocket attack late last month on the port city of Mariupol, killing about 30 Ukrainian civilians.
The sanctions apply currently to more than 130 Russians and Ukrainian separatist leaders backed by Russia.
The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine have tentatively agreed to meet on Wednesday in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. But it was unclear on Monday whether that meeting would actually take place.
Speaking to reporters early Monday in Brussels, the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, also expressed uncertainty over what he called the “possible summit in Minsk.”
As Europe pushes for a diplomatic settlement to the Ukraine crisis, the Obama administration is weighing whether to send arms to help Ukraine’s military counter an offensive by the pro-Russian rebels in the east. Most European countries, including Germany and France, oppose sending arms, arguing that doing so would only add fuel to the fire.
Even generally pro-American nations like the Netherlands are skeptical about the wisdom of sending weapons. “I don’t think it is the moment right now,” said the Dutch foreign minister, Bert Koenders. “We really need to come to a political solution.”
The issue has threatened to divide what has until now been a united front among the United States and its European allies over how to respond to the Ukrainian conflict, which has been stoked by a steady supply of weapons and soldiers from Russia. Many European capitals share Washington’s distrust of President Putin, but CONTINUE to hope that the pressure of economic sanctions will lead him to accept some sort of settlement.
Mr. Fabius, the French foreign minister, said that any future settlement must be based “as far as possible” on the terms of a stillborn truce reached last September in Minsk. But he acknowledged that “there have been certain evolutions on the ground” that make a settlement difficult. Russian-backed separatists have captured more territory since September and have said they will never agree to retreat to their previous positions.
The sanctions delay, Mr. Fabius said, will give the 28 nations of the European Union time to review Russia’s willingness to work toward a peaceful solution. He said a critical issue was whether a firm agreement could be reached to withdraw heavy weapons behind specified lines. Previous agreements have all collapsed.
More hawkish countries, notably Britain, argued against a pause in sanctions but went along with other nations on Monday in endorsing a delay. “Until we see Russia complying on the ground, we can’t relieve the pressure,” the British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said ahead of the meeting. “We need not just words but deeds on the ground.”
One of the few countries urging military support for Ukraine’s beleaguered government is Lithuania, a tiny Baltic nation that, along with other countries once occupied by the Soviet Union, takes a highly skeptical view of the Kremlin’s declarations in favor of peace and Western Europe’s hopes for a political settlement.
“How can you have a peaceful solution when the other side is still fighting?” asked Linas Linkevicius, Lithuania’s foreign minister, “The only peaceful solution in this case is surrender.” Russian statements, he added, “are all worthless.”
Julie Hirschfeld Davis contribued reporting from Washington, Andrew Higgins contributed from Brussels, Alison Smale and Melissa Eddy contributed from Berlin.
