The Economist article makes a good argument and poses an important question:
"Many powers, not least Britain, France and the United States, have
sometimes broken international law. But Mr Putin has emptied the law of
significance, by warping reality to mean whatever he chooses. He has argued
that fascists threaten the safety of Russian-speakers in Ukraine; that the
elite troops surrounding Ukrainian bases are not Russian, but irregulars
who bought their uniforms in the shops; that the Budapest memorandum, which
Russia signed in 1994 and guarantees Ukraine's borders, is no longer valid
because the government in Kiev has been overthrown. Such preposterous
claims are not meant to be taken at face value. Instead they communicate a
truth that ordinary Russians understand only too well: the law is there not
to restrain power, but to serve it. Unchallenged, this is a licence for
Russian aggression."
Is the West prepared to pay a price to punish and discourage Russian
aggression?
On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 10:41 AM, Anubis <[email protected]> wrote:
> http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21598639-west-can-
> punish-putins-russia-its-belligerence-ukraine-only-if-it-prepared
>
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