The Importance of Being Realistic

Kyiv Post

"The Importance of Being Realistic

There is no doubt that the U. S. should not give up on Ukraine. Nonetheless, as the situation in Iraq illustrates, this does not mean that the U. S. can remake the former Soviet space or ignore existing realities. Neither the U.S. nor the European Union is willing to make Ukraine their first priority. There are plenty of other markets for businesses to pursue and sources of inexpensive and educated labor to which to outsource. If Ukraine were brought into NATO, for example, it would reinforce Russian fears about being encircled, which would likely have undesirable repercussions. This is not a question of “appeasement,” but rather one of simply dealing with the world as it is. With regard to EU membership, Turkey can make a more convincing argument for accession than can Ukraine (not to mention that Turkish membership would be a more positive development for the world).

The U. S. is overextended and the EU is trying to determine its own direction for the future. Just as the West could not “rescue” Hungary in 1956, it would be foolish to think that those exercising power in Kyiv can ignore geographic and historical realities. It is no accident that any survey course in Russian history at a Western university devotes at least some of its coverage to the Kyivan Rus period. "