Rubin lectures on Ukraine crisis

The United States will not take direct military action against Russia in Ukraine but will rather seek a resolution through multilateral agreements to empower Ukraine, saidEric Rubin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, at a lecture on Wednesday.

“We need Russia in the world, we need Russia’s cooporation, but we can’t say that because Russia is important; it can set its own rules," Rubin said.

The United States does not wish to escalate the controversy into a military showdown with the country with the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, and strengthening Ukraine economically is key to extinguishing conflict, he said, adding that global domination is not on anyone’s agenda in Washington.

Describing Ukraine as “a country under PTSD for a year and a half,” Rubin said the costs of the crisis have devastated an already shaky economy. A high unemployment rate in Crimea, the demise of Ukraine’s tourism industry and crippling divestment by foreign businesses have plunged the country into destitution, he said.

Protests in response to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych’s refusal represented an outburst of the “aspirations of a long suffering Ukrainian population,” Rubin said.

To help revive its economy, Ukraine must amend its pension age, currently set at 60, address its energy crisis and consider adjustments in its currency value, Rubin said, adding that bringing the dispute to a close is indispensable to reviving Ukraine’s economy.

The United States will also never accept forced annexations of a sovereign territory, Rubin said.

“We cannot let self-appointed thugs be rulers of Ukraine,” Rubin said, noting that Russia’s actions last February were a shock and threat to the entire international system that has no other post-World War II precedent. Russia’s bellicosity is a recipe for complete chaos and breakdown, he added.

“[Russia’s actions] affect neighbors who are watching anxiously,” added Rubin, “and the United States cannot accept an imposed treaty in 2015.”

Kim Lane Scheppele, a sociology professor, provided commentary on Rubin’s lecture.

Drawing a parallel to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Scheppele said the United States may have “overpromised on the economic and military front.”

Furthermore, the Ukrainian provisional government was not representative of the Russian elements of Ukraine’s population, she said, adding the lack of constitutional clarity is a major impediment to resolving the crisis. In addition, the proposed bill to repeal recognition of the Russian language last February, though never signed into law, created a tinderbox for conflict,Scheppele said.

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Two important elements of a solution to the crisis will lie in the efforts of the neutral state of Finland and constitutional reform in Ukraine, she said.

In response to a question about the United States’ “minimalist policy when it comes to military actions,” Rubin said that though it is agreed by the U.S. and NATO that Ukraine needs some degree of military aid, the question remains of whether to arm the country with offensive weapons.

The event took place at12:15 p.m. at Robertson Hall Bowl 1. It was organized by the European Union Program and co-sponsored by the Program in Law and Public Affairs and the Program in Contemporary European Politics and Society.