MERKEL'S VISIT
German leader meets with Harper, Obama to discuss Ukraine crisis.
Washington • U.S . President Barack Obama wants peace negotiations with Russia to run their course before deciding to send “lethal defensive” arms to help Kyiv against the recent attacks by Russian-supplied separatists in eastern Ukraine.
“The possibility of lethal defensive weapons is one of those options that’s being examined,” he said at a press conference Monday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “But I have not made a decision about that yet.”
Nevertheless, he said, “We are in absolute agreement that the 21st century cannot have us stand idle and simply allow the borders of Europe be redrawn at the barrel of a gun.”
Ms. Merkel was in Washington Monday to gain the U.S. president’s support for continued negotiations with Russia for a peaceful resolution to hostilities in eastern Ukraine, where separatists have trapped thousands of Ukrainian troops.
Later in the day, the German leader arrived in Ottawa, where she had a meeting with
Prime Minister Stephen Harper to brief him on her peace efforts in Ukraine.
It was just her latest stop in a week of whirlwind shuttle diplomacy to find a peaceful solution to the escalating Russian-backed incursion into eastern Ukraine.
“Obviously, Angela, we’ ll have a great deal to talk about with all of the developments going on in the world,” Mr. Harper told the well-travelled German leader during a handshake welcome to his Centre Block office on Parliament Hill.
In a statement after the meeting, the Canadian PM said the two leaders had had “highly productive discussions” on the situation in Ukraine.
Mr. Harper lauded Ms. Merkel with praise, calling her a woman of great vision, but he did not appear to take the option of joining the U.S. initiative off the table.
“We all hope this situation will be resolved by diplomatic means,” Mr. Harper said, noting that Canada’s current assistance to Ukraine includes non-lethal military aid.
“Obviously, we’ ll look at all options. But obviously we’ll proceed extremely cautiously in partnership and collaboration with all of our allies.”
On Friday, Ms. Merkel and French President François Hollande met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for emergency negotiations, but came away with only a promise to continue talks Wednesday.
While Ms. Merkel stood firm on her policy, she insisted she would not sit back while Russia rolls over Ukraine.
“If we give up this principle of territorial integrity of our countries, we will not be able to maintain the peaceful order of Europe that we have been able to achieve,” she said. “This is not just any point. It’s the crucial point.”
Many U.S. lawmakers have called on Mr. Obama to send weapons to Ukraine to counter the separatists.
But the German chancellor argues weapon deliveries at this stage would not stop the powerful Russian army, but could escalate the war into a wider conflict. She believes negotiations offer a swift resolution that would save the lives of the cornered Ukrainian troops and civilians.
“I myself would not be able to live with not having made this attempt,” she said. “If, in a certain point of time, one has to say that a success is not possible even if one puts every effort into it, then the United States and Europe have to sit together and try and explore further possibilities.”
Mr. Obama expressed a reluctance to send weapons, claiming it is only one option if the talks fail. Increased sanctions are also possible.
He said any U.S. arms deliveries would be restricted to defensive weapons, adding he doesn’t know when circumstances will dictate sending guns to Ukraine.
“There is not going to be any specific point at which I say, ah, clearly lethal defence weapons would be appropriate here,” he said. “It’s an ongoing analysis on how to persuade Russia from encroaching further and further on Ukrainian territory.”
Still, Washington appears to have little faith in diplomacy. At a security conference Saturday in Munich, U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden reminded Ms. Merkel Mr. Putin lied about his invasion of Crimea, had violated last September’s Minsk peace agreement and now “his troops roll through the Ukraine.”
Hawks believe economic sanctions have failed to halt Mr. Putin’s troops and therefore a show of military force is needed.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former national security adviser to the Carter administration, told a Senate armed services committee last week that troops on the ground in eastern Europe would make Mr. Putin think twice before widening his war.
“In the short run we have to deal also with his motivations and the only way to do that is to indicate to him by tangible steps such as defensive arming of the Ukrainians that we will be involved in some fashion in making that military-engagement more costly,” Mr. Brzezinski said.
Ongoing analysis on how to persuade Russia from encroaching