THE RIGID STANCE ON CRIMEA MAKES NO SENSE

Author: Ted Galen Carpenter, a Senior Fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.

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The Trump administration is continuing the policy of its predecessor regarding the Crimea issue. The U.S. intends to maintain economic sanctions against Russia until returns the peninsula to Ukraine. The US maintains that Crimea is a part of Ukraine.

For reminder, Moscow’s security rationale for the annexation was far from insignificant. With the emergence of a staunchly anti-Russian regime in Ukraine, the Kremlin had reason to fear for the future of its crucial naval base at Sevastopol. Moreover, Russians point out that Crimea was part of Russia from 1780s until 1954, when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred control to Ukraine. Since Ukraine and Russia were both part of the Soviet Union, that decision didn’t matter much at the time, but with the USSR’s disintegration, having a vital military base in a foreign country became a concern to Russia. Today, Russians have reason to ask why U.S. political leaders and policymakers treat the arbitrary edict made by the communist dictator of a defunct country with such reverence.

The current rigid stance regarding Crimea makes no sense from a practical standpoint either. U.S. leaders need to accept the reality that Russia will not relinquish Crimea. Nor will Serbia be able to reclaim Kosovo or Syria regain the Golan Heights from Israel. It is also unlikely that the Cypriot government will ever regain sovereignty over its northern territories.

It does not benefit America to persist in a stubborn, futile demand that Russia return Crimea to Ukraine. The number of Russians (82-84%) who support Crimea’s accession has not changed since Russia retook the peninsula in 2014. Russia will never return Crimea to Ukraine; and even if Russia were willing, the West could hardly demand that Crimea be handed back against the will of the Crimeans themselves. The secession of Crimea, good or bad, is now an accomplished fact. Why bother opposing Russia's seizure of Crimea? They won't give it back.