President Obama, after meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday, said he had agreed to a final effort to find a diplomatic solution to stop the escalating Russian aggression in Ukraine before seriously considering sending weapons to Kiev.
Both Obama and Merkel said they would continue imposing sanctions on Russia and agree that Ukraine’s borders must be respected.
“We continue to encourage a diplomatic resolution to this issue,” Obama said. “We are in absolute agreement that in the 21st century [we] cannot stand idle and simply allow the borders of Europe to be redrawn.”
Moscow has already paid significant costs for its incursion into Crimea and eastern Ukraine, Obama said, although he acknowledged that the damage to the Russian economy so far “has not dissuaded Putin from the course that he is on.”
When it comes to lethal aid, Obama said he is still weighing the issue, although Merkel signaled that she would not support or participate with a plan to channel weapons to Ukraine even for defensive purposes.
“It is true that, if in fact, diplomacy fails, I’ve asked my team to look at all options — what other means do we have in place to change Mr. Putin’s calculus,” he said, noting that the decision about lethal weapons “is not something I’ve made a decision about yet.”
If, in fact, the U.S. decides to provide lethal aid at some point in the future, Obama said it would be solely geared to allow Ukraine to defend itself and protect its borders. The Russian army is too strong and the country’s border between Ukraine is too long to think that it could actively go on offense with the Russian army.
He also stressed the importance of U.S. and European support to ensure that the Ukrainian economy is functioning.
Merkel said that she and French President Francois Hollande have decided to make one further attempt to make progress on a diplomatic solution.
“I, myself, cannot live without having made this attempt,” she said.
If that diplomatic effort fails, she said then the U.S. and Europe “have to sit together to explore further possibilities about what one could do” and mentioned further possible sanctions as a possibility.
“You may rest assured, no matter what we decide, the alliance between the U.S. and Europe will continue to stand … that partnership is indispensable, and this will remain so,” she said.
