Russia risks becoming pariah state say foreign policy experts

One of the world’s leading experts on Russian foreign policy has said that Russia risks global isolation over its annexation of Crimea.

Stating his views, Dr Pete Duncan, a professor of Russian politics and foreign policy at University College London (UCL), mentioned that even Russia’s closest international allies are shunning the country over its actions in Ukraine.

Dr Duncan said: “By abstaining from the UN Security Council meeting, China, who usually supports Russia in international relations, is showing that it doesn’t approve of chopping up other countries or encouraging separatism – Russia is isolating itself.”

The UCL professor anticipates that sanctions will be used to deter a further encroachment on Ukraine’s territory but believes that the West and Ukraine have resigned themselves to the fact that Crimea is a now a de-facto Russian territory.

Annabelle Chapman, a journalist who has been covering the crisis from Ukraine for the past few months, in one of her stories commented: “I had been expecting huge protests in Kiev on the day of the Crimean referendum, but there was actually an air of resignation about the place – as if they had accepted that Crimea was part of Russia now.”

Though the West has dismissed fears that the standoff with Russia is the start of another cold war, Chapman thinks that the feeling in Kiev is that war is approaching and that preparations for conflict have started.

Chapman said: “Mobilisation is ongoing in Kiev – organisations including the official National Guard are recruiting soldiers in Independence Square for the war that most people are expecting.”

According to Chapman, the fear in Kiev is that Russia will try to annex other parts of Ukraine and confidence in Western support is low. She said: “Ukrainians are disappointed that the European Union (EU) did not intervene earlier in the year when the regime was cracking down on pro-EU protests.”

However, the West remains confident that war can be averted, but feels that the sanctions are having an effect on the country’s economic growth as pointed out by Russian minister of economic development Alexie Ulyukayev.

Vincent Manancourt