The G-8 is a forum of the leading industrialized countries in the world and is made up of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, and Russia.

However, all countries except Russia pulled out of the group to form the Group of 7, or G-7, in lieu of Russia’s continued lack of cooperation.

This action comes after many policy experts and citizens of these 7 countries have criticized America’s lack of leadership and inability to control the actions of Russia in the Crimean situation.

President Obama recently announced economic sanctions on many of Russian President Putin’s top advisors to send a message that his actions would not be tolerated.

The western countries are seeking to further isolate Russia economically, as well as politically, in order to create the pressure necessary to have him pull Russian troops out of Ukraine.

The seven countries have come out and said that they will continue to explore options for additional sanctions to further hurt the Russian economy as punishment for its recent aggression and blatant disregard for Ukrainian sovereignty.

In addition, concern over Russian military troop movements around the region has caused European leaders to call for increased NATO support in the region, as a show of strength and defense. President Obama called for a greater commitment to countries in Europe to maintain a regular presence to deter continuing Russian threats in the region.

It is evident that the situation in Crimea is far from over, as the now Group of 7 continue to discuss how to make the Russians feel the effects of sanctions and look to put additional pressure on President Putin to de-escalate.

One thing is for certain; Russia is helping unite all of Europe and the United States against its aggression, which will not bode well for their already slow economy, as the West looks to lash back at the aggressive regime in Moscow.

Source: politico.com.

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 It is important for the average American citizen to understand the situation as it has potential implications all over the world.

The protests began when the Ukrainian government rejected a trade deal with the European Union (EU) to help save their crumbling economy, in part because of Russian pressure to accept a $15 billion bailout from Russia instead of receiving a bailout from the EU.

This led to hundreds of thousands of people engaging in protests that quickly turned into a full-scale protest against the government leadership under President Viktor Yanukovyh. The government and police force clamped down on opposition and enacted anti-protesting laws to no avail, as the protests grew and led to the ousting of President Yanukovyh.

It seems the people of Ukraine have rejected the idea of cozying up to Russia and are seeking more independence from their neighbor to the east. However, their heavy dependence on Russian oil is causing fear that a split might put their economy deeper into a recession.

Despite this opposition, Vladimir Putin (President of Russia) does not want the Ukrainian leadership turning to the west for aid, as he fears this will only draw western influence closer to Russia. Russia, in turn, decided to invade the region of Crimea in Eastern Ukraine, with the guise of protecting the Russian-speaking citizens in the region, as they view the political environment has grown volatile and unsafe under the opposition leadership.

The United States has condemned this act of invasion but, as of yet, has not taken any steps to punish Russia for their actions. President Obama has argued that Russia’s invasion of Crimea is a breach of their sovereignty. Yet, Putin has defended his right to intervene in Crimea, as they are a predominately Russian-speaking region, but according to Gallup polls only 23% of the people in the region want to be a part of Russia.

Since the invasion of Crimea, the new government of Ukraine has requested NATO help to protect their sovereignty; but, so far, no NATO military options are on the table.

Putin’s true motives are yet to be revealed, but one thing is sure; this situation has major implications for the geo-political relationship between the United States and Russia and has swiftly brought Russia back to the forefront of policy focus.

WE at Follow My Vote want to know what you think. What should the United States next step be?

Sources:
http://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303775504579393324230970300

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