Editorial: sanctions – too lean, too late

Photo: Urmas Nemvalts

Response to Russian aggression against Ukraine is disproportionally weak by both USA and the European Union. On one side, there stand crimes against peace already committed, to say nothing about ongoing threatening. On the other side, there are visa bans and asset freezes regarding two dozen people. As glaringly obvious by now, the sanctions imposed yesterday came too late and are too lean.

With a sour look on his face, our foreign minister told TV watchers yesterday that a uniform decision by 28 EU member states is still better than no decision at all. In essence, however, the mildness of the sanctions shows us that not all EU members – far from it – have grasped the meaning of Putin’s aggression and its possible consequences to entire Europe, and to the international system maintained for decades. It has yet to sink in: the longer Putin is allowed to act aggressive, the costlier the eventual confrontation.

True: as assured by US and EU alike, the black lists need not be treated as final. But what’s the interpretation of said decisions by Putin and his entourage? Perhaps a ridiculous no-good flop, as Dmitri Rogozin – a man listed – already managed to proclaim? By Russian Duma upper house speaker Valetina Matvijenko, the sanctions were called political blackmail. No-one can intimidate us with threats, declared the lady. The strongest sign, however, was Putin continuing on the course of the Crimean Kalashnikov-style charade called «referendum», recognising the peninsula as an independent state.

Naturally, it is relevant to calculate the economic costs certain sanctions may mean to those imposing them. It’s also understandable that, in the diplomatic arsenal, sanctions are the final step, and by turning these up, it is attempted to threaten first and only then to act. Still, as evidenced by the leniency of the sanctions, the EU lacks a uniform assessment of how bad the events in Crimea already are.

The Kremlin has invaded the territory of another country, by its army, and in 20 days organised a «referendum» on the territory now under its control. Hitler, by the way, left a gap slightly longer during the Austrian Anschluss, between the army marching in and the «referendum». By nature and content, the mockery Putin and his accomplices are currently making of democracy is in all respects similar to what both Hitler and Stalin practiced while conquering other countries.

Let’s repeat: in addition to being illegal, the spectacle in Crimea can never be taken as expression of free will by locals, having been conducted by use of guns, without any substantial discussions, while chasing off independent observers – listing just the major basic violations. These violations no party on Lenin Square of Simferopol will annul.