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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Ukraine: With both the Senate and House unable to reach a conclusion on a policy on how to move forward with the Ukrainian situation and how to combat Russia’s aggression in the Crimean region, there has been little intervention by the US into Russia’s aggression in the region.

The Senate seeks a comprehensive package that invokes an aid package for Ukraine as well as sanctions. They call for shifting billions of dollars from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) crisis account into the general fund to help Ukraine, which many Senate and House Republicans oppose. They also argue that payment for this bill comes at the cost of the Pentagon and Sate Department’s budgets.

The House has come up with a less comprehensive plan that focuses more on an aid package to the country without shifting the funds in the IMF.

A plan has yet to be voted on.

Obamacare: The administration states that numbers for sign-ups into coverage plans through the Affordable Care Act are at approximately 4.2 million, which is well short of its six million person sign-up goal, by the end of March. The administration needs more people to sign up in order to balance out and pay for the lower income and elderly families that are currently signed up for coverage under Obamacare.

Obama took to comedy in his latest effort to promote the new healthcare act in an interview with Zach Galifianakis on his show “Between Two Ferns.”

This show by the president has many critics screaming desperate, as participation numbers continue to grow at a much slower rate than needed. The administration is standing behind their hopes of the magic six million number being attainable by March 31st; but many remain skeptical.

Approval Ratings: President Obama’s approval rating has sunk to the lowest of his presidency with his rating dropping to around 41% approval. Many criticize his handling of the crisis in Ukraine and the rollout of Obamacare even with over 20% of Democrats now showing unfavorable ratings.

The Congressional approval rating is sitting at 15% approval, which is a March record low in a midterm year, as the public continues to show gross dissatisfaction in the way they haven’t been able to compromise on important issues and roll out legislation.

WE at Follow My Vote want to know. What are you most concerned about with the way Congress and the administration are handling these important issues?

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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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