OPINION:
Having never met an adversary he didn’t want to appease, Secretary of State John Kerry continues this practice today at NATO headquarters. Itching to find a way to relieve sanctions on Russia, Mr. Kerry practically begged Russian President Vladimir Putin to do something in Ukraine that would allow him to declare that all is well with the world and the oceans are receding, that climate change really is the biggest threat to the word. But alas, the pesky dictator Vladimir Putin doesn’t play kumbaya ball, much to Mr. Kerry’s chagrin.
Reuters reports that speaking on Wednesday at NATO headquarters, the U.S. Secretary of State urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to act: “If Moscow wants relief from sanctions … it is there for the getting.”
“Implement Minsk and this can be achieved,” Mr. Kerry told a separate news conference following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers who discussed the Ukraine crisis.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Phillip Breedlove, who also heads the U.S. European Command, also threw water on the happiness parade and said Russia is still stirring the separatist pot in East Ukraine. “Russia still supports its proxies in eastern Ukraine … It is not very likely that we can get everything we need in Minsk by the end of the year,” he said, referring to the 12-point peace deal signed in the Belarus capital in February.
“Russia is completely in control of what is happening on the line of contact and they will use that in the future,” Mr. Kerry said.
I guess the Obama administration has forgotten the inconvenient truth of that little place called Crimea. We all know the Europeans can’t wait to get those rich Russians back as customers. However, the United States is supposed to stand up for freedom, to be the shining city on the hill.
Having allowed Iran to get the bomb, along with billions of dollars to support terrorism and mayhem in the Middle East, making things right with Russia’s might in Ukraine would be icing on the cake for the Obama-Kerry legacy. Now if those pesky ISIS terrorists would throw Mr. Kerry a bone, then the progressive planet really would begin to heal.
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