Last week’s attempts at diplomacy are already in shambles as violence on the ground in Ukraine has escalated and Putin threatens “consequences” for Kiev’s military aggression. In the midst of the meltdown, Hillary Clinton is sticking to the administration’s threadbare throwaway line, calling Putin’s actions an attempt “to turn the clock back to the Soviet Union days.”
Clinton’s comments came Wednesday when she addressed students at the University of Connecticut. The 2016 hopeful reprimanded Putin for his handling of Ukraine; but the strongest her rhetoric got was to say that she believed Russia “will pay a big price for this.” Calling for more sanctions, Clinton faithfully stuck to the administration’s repeated “20th century thinking” claim, stating Putin was “trying to turn the clock back the Soviet Union days”—a line notable only for its lack of understanding of Putin’s 21st century political acumen.
As for 21st century diplomacy: the negotiations last week in Geneva between the U.S, Russia, Ukraine, and EU have apparently failed. As CNN reports, the “rift between the parties involved grows,” with Russia and the West now accusing each other of deliberately attempting to foil the agreement.
Thursday, Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had strong words for Western leaders, insisting that the Ukrainian government must disarm “right-wing ultranationalists” he claims are responsible for the violence in eastern Urkaine and that the EU and the U.S. were supporting a coup:
"We don't have any doubts that the first step must be done by the Kiev authorities," said Lavrov. He accused the West of treating leaders in Kiev like "angels" who did nothing wrong while blaming Russia for the unrest in eastern Ukraine.
Lavrov accused the European Union and the United States of supporting an unconstitutional coup in Ukraine.
He also accused the West of abandoning a spirit of partnership that had developed with Moscow, agency RIA Novosti reported.
Putin also strongly criticized Kiev Thursday to Russian reporters, issuing a vague threat of “consequences” for its heightened military presence in the region:
If Kiev really began to use the army against the country's population... that is a very serious crime against its own people. That is simply a punitive measure that will without question have consequences... including for our inter-governmental relations.
Meanwhile, the West alleges that Putin is secretly sending in armed forces to bolster the pro-Russian militant movement that is seizing towns in eastern Ukraine—something the administration no doubt will characterize as an ineffectual 20th century move.
