Excerpt
SUMMARY: The leaders of France and Germany went to Kiev to discuss diplomatic solutions to the escalating war, while NATO defense ministers met in Brussels to plan how to counter Russia's aggressive actions. The White House has debated sending weapons to aid the Ukrainian military effort, a move that other nations have discouraged but has gained support in Washington. Gwen Ifill reports.
GWEN IFILL (NewsHour): In Ukraine, a debate over guns or diplomacy, a battle over that choice shaped up today as Western leaders sought to stop the killing and rein in Russia. The French president, the German chancellor, and America’s top diplomat all hurried to Ukraine in search of an answer.
Night had fallen by the time the leaders of France and Germany landed in Kiev. They were driven directly to the presidential palace to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in a bid to stop the escalating war.
Before leaving Paris, French President Francois Hollande spoke of the growing urgency.
PRESIDENT FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, France (through interpreter): We will make a new proposal to solve the conflict. It won’t be said that France and Germany, together, haven’t tried everything, undertaken everything to preserve peace.
GWEN IFILL: France, Germany and other nations oppose supplying Ukraine with arms.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, NATO defense ministers agreed on new moves to counter Russia’s aggressive actions by more than doubling the size of a ready response force, and setting up new command centers in Eastern Europe. As fighting in the east has escalated, both NATO and Ukraine charge the Russians are supplying tanks, heavy weapons and even troops to the Ukrainian rebels, something the Russians deny.
That’s led to White House discussions of whether the U.S. should start shipping weapons to Ukraine’s military.
"Would arming Ukraine discourage Russian aggression or invite escalation?" PBS NewsHour 2/5/2015
Excerpt
SUMMARY: With the reigniting of the war in Ukraine, Western leaders are battling over how to help end the conflict. Should the U.S. send arms to fight Russian-backed rebels? Gwen Ifill hears opposing views from former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer and John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago.
My answer, YES.
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