(The New York Times) (By Samuel Charap and Keith Darden) — The outcome of Viktor F. Yanukovich’s trip to Moscow on Tuesday was sobering for Western officials. After backing away at the last minute from a major trade and integration accord with the European Union, Mr. Yanukovich, Ukraine’s president, signed a wide range of economic agreements during a meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
The European and American policy toward Ukraine — urging it to pursue the path of reform that proved so successful in Central Europe — has reached an impasse. This failure stems from a consistent misreading of Ukraine by the West.
Listening to recent commentary from Western officials, you would think that a new nation has been born on the Maidan in Kiev, that Ukrainians are united in their desire to divorce themselves from Russia and return to the fold of Europe, and that it is only their current leaders—bolstered and bullied by their patrons in the Kremlin — who stand in the way of a “Europe whole and free.” This all makes for a nice sound bite, but it bears little relationship to reality. […]
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