The US president has lashed out at his Russian counterpart for pursuing what he called a “nationalist, backward-looking” policy. Obama has vowed to maintain sanctions against Russia, but added he doubts they could actually change Putin’s “mindset.”
“Direct, blunt and business-like” is how Obama defined
his relations with Vladimir Putin, when talking leading American
CEOs on Wednesday. He admitted that working with Dmitry Medvedev
as Russia’s head of state was easier for him.
Obama said that Putin’s reaction to the crisis in Ukraine was
aggressive and outdated.
"In part because I think the situation in Ukraine caught him
by surprise, he has been improvising himself into a nationalist,
backward-looking approach to Russian policy that is scaring the
heck out of his neighbors and is badly damaging his
economy," Obama said.
The US president praised the EU for having joined the sanctions against Russia, “despite the fact that it’s tough on the European economy.”
Russia could at any time escape economic hardships if it only
accepted “a pathway to a diplomatic resolution” in
Ukraine offered by the US, Obama said.
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“But if you ask me if I’m optimistic that Putin suddenly
changes his mindset, I don’t think that will happen until the
politics inside Russian catch up with what’s happening in the
economy, which is why we are going to continue to maintain that
pressure.”
The US president acknowledged that Putin’s popularity at home has
so far remained strong.
"The challenge is [that] this is working for him politically
inside of Russia, even though it is isolating Russia completely
internationally."
US rhetoric toward Russia has recently been getting more and more
hostile.
Criticism of Putin and his policies comes less than three months
after he included Russia with Ebola and the Islamic State
extremist group in his ranking of international threats.
READ MORE: Russia tops ISIS threat, Ebola worst of all? Lavrov puzzled by Obama’s UN speech
The US president also included "aggressive Russia" in his list of
top global dangers at the recent G20 summit in Brisbane,
Australia.
The US House of Representatives has joined in, currently
discussing a resolution “strongly condemning the actions of
the Russian Federation, under President Vladimir Putin, which has
carried out a policy of aggression against neighboring countries
aimed at political and economic domination.”
The resolution describes Russia as an authoritarian regime, calls
for the reinforcement of NATO, and for the sale of US gas to
European countries so they don’t have to buy it from Russia. It
also calls for an increase in broadcasting in the Russian and
Ukrainian languages to counter “Russian propaganda.”
Moscow has long been irritated by NATO’s eastward expansion,
seeing it as a factor undermining Russia’s security.
READ MORE: NATO destabilizing Baltic by stationing nuke-capable aircraft – Moscow
The recent NATO military buildup in the bloc’s member states
bordering Russia has brought repeated and strident objections
from Moscow, as well as promises of “an adequate and
well-measured response.”
Putin has repeatedly denied the West’s accusations that Russia is
militarily involved in hostilities in eastern Ukraine. Putin has
emphasized that Moscow is doing everything it can to resolve the
crisis there.
As for the sanctions, Putin has interpreted them as an attempt to
subdue Russia.
"Throughout history, no one has ever managed to do so toward
Russia – and no one ever will," Putin said in November.