State Dept. Spox Struggles to Defend Obama’s Approach to Ukraine Crisis
State Department spokesperson Jennifer Psaki appeared on CNN with Jake Tapper on Friday where she was grilled over President Barack Obama’s approach to the worsening crisis in Ukraine. She insisted that the United States will continue to work with Russia on a variety of fronts, in spite of reports which indicate that Russia has cut off high-level ties with the U.S. She also defended limited sanctions on Russia even though, as Tapper noted, they appear to have had no deterrent effect on Moscow.
Tapper noted that The Daily Beast reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has cut off all high-level diplomatic communications with America. “We still continue to work with Russia on a range of global issues,” Psaki insisted. She cited the removal of Syrian chemical weapons and the efforts to prevent Iranian nuclearization as examples.
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Tapper asked Psaki to cite examples of how the Obama administration has achieved a success in its approach to the Ukraine crisis. Psaki said they have put in place several rounds of sanctions.
“Well, they’re not working, Jen,” Tapper pushed back.
“Well, they are working,” Psaki replied. “Regardless of what the Russians say, the facts on the ground, the impact on their economy, is a striking difference from what they’re saying.”
Tapper noted that Russia has admitted to expanding their involvement in Ukraine and observed that the sanctions do not appear to be deterring Russian action. Psaki again inserted that the sanction have had an impact on the Russia economy, based on Putin’s own admission.
Finally, when asked why the administration was not considering sending lethal aid to Ukraine, Psaki said that the U.S. does not want to “get into a proxy war with Russia.”
Watch the clip below via CNN:
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