Sanctions won’t stop Russia, but fixing Europe’s security order might

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 22, 2022
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, President Biden announced a round of sanctions on Russia in response to the decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize separatist regions as independent of Ukraine. Defense Priorities Director of Grand Strategy Rajan Menon issued the following statement in response:

“Russia’s recent and expected decision to deepen the current crisis by ordering its troops into Ukraine should be condemned, no matter Russian concerns about Ukraine’s possible membership in NATO. The United States and its allies have, appropriately, made it clear that Russia will suffer severe punishment if, or when, it moves deeper into Ukraine.

“President Biden has wisely avoided comprehensive and deep sanctions, which would, among other things, have severed Russia from the SWIFT messaging system, which moves money around the world. Instead, he has chosen to enact some sanctions now and more later, depending on what Russia does in Ukraine. Had he gone full throttle, further diplomatic engagement with Russia to de-escalate this crisis could well have become impossible. Notably, President Biden didn’t rule out further U.S.-Russia meetings, including possibly between him and President Putin. That’s a good thing if one wants diplomacy to remain in play.

“The best chance to resolve the Ukraine crisis and avoid future ones in Europe is for the United States to engage Russia on the core issue: Ukraine’s prospects for NATO membership and Europe’s security order. Doing so is an opportunity to test President Putin’s intentions as well as to raise issues that the United States and its European allies deem important.”