Turning Point in Ukraine Fails To Materialise

[amandabeech]

14. Certainly, those EU nations that were either part of the Soviet Union or were

members of the Warsaw Pact may have a very different view of Russia than those nations fortunate enough to not have had that experience.

I would imagine that those southern EU nations that have been experiencing extreme financial hardship since 2008 want to focus only on economics.

Then there would be some who just want that Russian gas no matter what.

I can see the difficulties for the EU, but I think that there may be more than two viewpoints, and that many countries would feel very torn about all of this. The mildness of EU sanctions against Russia are a reflection of the conflicting interests both among and within countries. This piece seems to take what may be messiness of purpose and interest and turn it into hardened blocs that threaten to pull apart the EU and NATO.

On the other hand, The Nation has not had a very neutral view of the former USSR nor does it have a similar nuanced view of Russia and its current actions. If this same view "pops out" in other publications, I'd give it more credence.