SPY EYES

Russian President Vladimir Putin must understand one, singular message from the West: Get out of Ukraine immediately. He obviously is testing the United States and Europe and fully believes Russia can withstand any economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation or other punishment the West tries to mete out.

The key to disabusing him of any notion that he can get away with his invasion of Ukraine is to muster powerful sanctions immediately, without delay. If President Barack Obama allows this to become a meandering, dribs-n’-drabs series of pinprick sanctions, none of this will mean anything. What got Iran’s attention? Clearly, the the slow increase in trade sanctions — blockage of computers and other consumer items — didn’t do it. Iran finally heeded the West’s message when its international bank accounts were frozen and Iran couldn’t get access to hard currency or repatriate its oil earnings from abroad.

That’s what has to happen with Russia — now. Any Russian cargo ships currently in U.S. or European ports should be ordered to depart immediately. Russians visiting this country should be notified that their visas are subject to cancellation immediately. I guarantee, the Kremlin would grasp very quickly how serious the West takes its aggression in Ukraine when its own citizens register their concerns about the West’s anger.

But right now, I don’t think Putin takes Obama and Europe seriously at all. He believes we are weak, indecisive and easily manipulated.

His argument for invading Crimea is to protect the lives of Russians living there. The rationale is absurd. First, there is no evidence whatsoever that Russian lives are in danger. If that were the case, an evacuation would be in order, not an invasion. Second, it has been Russia’s goal for decades to populate Ukraine, and particularly Crimea, with Russians, kind of like Israel has done in the West Bank. Now that Russian lives as “in danger,” Russia treats Crimea as effectively Russian territory. (The irony is that Russia has historically stood on the side of the Arabs in condemning Israel’s settlement and military occupation of the West Bank and has rejected Israel’s rationale — to protect the lives of Israeli citizens — for its continued crackdown on Palestinians. Now Russia appears to be doing exactly the same thing.)

Major powers, superpowers, don’t behave this way. Even if Putin were to compare this to the ill-advised, U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the comparison would be false. The build-up to the U.S. invasion took months of diplomatic back-and-forth. Washington painstakingly went to the Security Council and worked through a series of resolutions to obtain a patina of legal sanction for its invasion. The international community was deeply divided, but no one can argue that the United States didn’t broadcast its intentions well in advance.

Russia flat out lied. It mobilized troops late last week and told the world it had nothing to do with Ukraine. Russia insisted it had no plans to invade. Then it invaded — all in the span of three days. There was no attempt to consult with the Security Council or obtain some kind of resolution. It was a blatant violation of international law, which is why a strong and quick Western response is required.

For the United States and Europe, economic retaliation against Russia will come at a heavy price. Russian businesses, led by Putin allies, are deeply entangled in U.S. internet ventures. For years, they have developed the ability to sabotage internet communications in this country and can be relied upon to do it if Putin asks them to. The United States opened the door to Russian investment in key U.S. internet ventures, believing that free trade was the key to good relations between the two countries. Against the advice of many experts who recognized our vulnerability, Washington gave trade a higher priority than national security.

Europeans are even more vulnerable. They rely heavily on Russian gas supplies, and they have known for years that their vulnerability put them at a strategic disadvantage in the event Russia chose to put the squeeze on its petroleum shipments. Well, that day might have arrived.

Putin, I don’t doubt, has made these calculations. He knows there will be no military response from the West. He believes he can bring the West to its knees, and that we will ultimately acquiesce to his demands for the ongoing Russian military and political domination of Ukraine.

The best way to make him reconsider is for the West to act in unison and with an, overwhelming economic response. Make Russia feel the pain immediately. Anything less will only confirm Putin’s assumptions about our lack of resolve.

Dallas Morning News

Ousted president expected to address press conference as pro-Russia armed men take over two airports in southeast.

Ukraine’s interim government in Kiev has accused Russia of staging an armed invasion against Crimea, a claim denied by Moscow as pro-Kremlin armed men continue their seizure of two airports and government buildings in the region with the Russian ethnic majority.

Two Crimean airports, one is the main international airport of Simferapol while the other is a military airfield in Sevastopol, have been taken over by what the Ukrainian Interior Minister claimed to be members of the Russian Federation Fleet, according to a statement he posted on his Facebook account.

Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee said that the civilian airport was operating normally.

“Inside the terminal building, passengers are queuing up to go to Moscow and Istanbul and all sort of places,and that is completely normal, but in the outside, it is entirely abnormal. Throughout the morning we have seen these large groups of green camouflaged helmeted men, some are masked and others are not, in control and are coming out of the VIP block here and changing shifts, as well as organising their perimeter. The airport security say they control inside the airport and will not let these people in,” he said.

He added that their magazines are not loaded “and they cannot be fired if they wanted to, but is a show of strength.”

The Ukrainian parliament, which voted days ago on ousting President Viktor Yanukovich, has called on Friday for a United National Security Council meeting to discuss developments in Crimea, and urged Russia “to stop moves that show signs of undermining national sovereignty and territorial integrity” as well as “reject support for separatism in Ukraine, of any form”.

Yanukovich’s presser

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s pro-Moscow ousted President Viktor Yanukovich is expected to hold his first public appearance since his disappearance last week.

Yanukovich has apparently been emboldened by the takeover of government buildings by the armed groups.

Yanukovich – who fled Kiev last week following weeks of deadly protests – is due to give a press conference in Russia’s southwestern city of Rostov-on-Don on Friday at 1300 GMT.

However, Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands says it is still not clear who will be allowed to attend the presser and where will it be exactly, although it may take place in the Don State Technical University in the city near Ukraine’s borders.

Rising tension in Crimea, which still regards Yanukovich as its president, is the biggest challenge facing the country’s newly sworn in government.

Al Jazeera’s Tim Friend says that the risk these developments have on Kiev are “substantial.”

“The new government is grappling with an enormous economic crisis, and now they are confronted with nothing less than trying to ensure that Ukraine remains united, and in Crimea they see that this is threatened,” he said.

Autonomous region

Oleksander Turchynov, the acting Ukraine president who has replaced Yanukovich, told parliament he had ordered troops and police to take “all measures” needed to protect Ukrainian citizens after the apparent pro-Russian takeover of buildings.

Turchynov’s statement also gave warning that any movement by Russian military forces in the Crimean Black Sea port of Sevastopol, would be considered a “military aggression”.

The area has been closed off “to prevent bloodshed”, according to news agency AFP.

“Measures have been taken to counter extremist actions and not allow the situation to escalate into an armed confrontation in the centre of the city,” Arsen Avakov, Ukraine interior minister, said.

Meanwhile, Crimea’s autonomous parliament has set a referendum on the region’s status on May 25, according to AFP, which is the same day during which the new government in Kiev is set to hold fresh presidential elections.

The autonomous government of Crimea still considers Yanukovich to be Ukraine’s president.

Vladimir Konstantinov, speaker of Crimea’s parliament, said on Thursday the autonomous republic appointed a new prime minister, Sergei Aksenov, with Yanukovich’s approval.

“There are political factions, pro-Russian groups, who want Crimea to break away, and have less to do with the Kiev,” Al Jazeera’s Forestier-Walker said. “But there are also those who want to stay firmly part of Ukraine, in particular the ethnic Tartar community, who want to see themselves part of Europe.”

Ukraine’s interim government has issued an arrest warrant for Yanukovich, accusing him of being responsible for the deaths of at least 70 protesters on February 21 protests in Kiev.

The parliament had voted on Tuesday to send Yanukovich, if captured, to stand trial for “serious crimes” at the International Criminal Court.

ALJAZEERA