WASHINGTON — Russia’s Vladimir Putin won’t be on the guest list when President Barack Obama and other world leaders assemble for the G-7 summit in Germany next week, as part of the punishment for alleged Kremlin-supported aggression in Ukraine.
Yet the Russian president remains a central player in international affairs, including the U.S.-led nuclear talks with Iran, even with the pledge by Western leaders to try to isolate Putin while the crisis in Ukraine persists.
This month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Moscow for talks with Putin, and Secretary of State John Kerry went to Sochi to confer with him. Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke by telephone in recent days and agreed to resume talks aimed at ending Syria’s civil war, where Putin’s cooperation is crucial.
U.S. officials say the engagement is limited to areas where Russia and the West have shared interests.
Outreach to Putin on such matters, officials argue, should not be seen as a sign that the West has accepted the status quo in Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists continue to stoke instability.
“It makes sense to cooperate where there is a clear mutual interest as long as you’re not being asked to back off matters of principle that matter to the security and well-being of your country and your allies and your friends,” said Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Some analysts say the West risks sending mixed signals to Ukraine, where the government has been pushing for more support. Matthew Rojanksy, a Wilson Center expert on the former Soviet states, said there is “growing disappointment” in Ukraine about what officials there see as the West’s “pale commitment” to protecting its sovereignty.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalated last year when the Kremlin-backed president in Kiev fled amid protests. Pro-Russian separatists moved to take over the strategically important Crimean Peninsula, which Russia later annexed. The West doesn’t recognize that move.
