Russian President Vladimir Putin has placed crosshairs on Ukraine, a country he sees as linked to Russia and the people of Ukraine as “one people” with Russians. To back up this fixation with repairing a “historic injustice” Moscow has amassed a force of over 100,000 troops and supporting armor and aircraft along the border with Ukraine. Leading the West’s response, President Biden has threatened “massive consequences” if Russia invades Ukraine. American and Russian diplomats are meeting this week. However, the lines are drawn: Putin is demanding an end to NATO’s eastward expansion, to include Ukraine, and Biden and the West say there will be a very high economic price to pay as well as increased deployments on NATO’s eastern flank. What is the context for this provocation and what are the U.S. and Allies prepared to do? On January 17, the American Council on Germany and the Tennessee World Affairs Council for a discussion with Ambassador John Kornblum about the crisis. He also discussed how we got to where we are and what the possible courses of action for the U.S. and Europe might be. The conversation was led by Dr. Thomas Schwartz, Distinguished Professor of History at Vanderbilt University. This event is held in cooperation with the Belmont University Center for International Business and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Relations between Russia and the United States are fraught. Tensions stem largely from the situation on the border with Ukraine, where Russia has positioned thousands of troops. U.S. intelligence sources believe that Moscow is planning a military offensive, but Russia denies any intent to invade Ukraine. The situation is further complicated because Russia sent troops into neighboring Kazakhstan last week after the oil-producing former Soviet republic was hit by a wave of unrest.
In two conversations over the past five weeks, U.S. President Joe Biden warned Putin that Russia would face unprecedented economic sanctions in the event of further aggression against Ukraine. The Group of Seven nations and the European Union have also threatened “massive consequences.” On January 14, the ACG hosted a discussion with Russia experts Dr. Stefan Meister and Dr. Angela Stent about this week’s talks with Russia.
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. On Monday, January 10, 2022, the ACG hosted its first Kaffeepause of the year with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Andreas Kluth. He discussed his outlook for 2022, as well as the current state of the pandemic in Germany and what it means for the new government.
Each week, the ACG hosts a discussion with a journalist based in Germany on the topics making the headlines and shaping political discourse in Berlin. On December 20, the ACG hosted the last kaffeepause of the year with ACG Young Leader alumnus Matthias Deiß, Deputy Director of ARD’s television studio in Berlin.
On December 17 the ACG held an online discussion about the new German government with the Political Editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Stefan Kornelius with a focus on possible new directions in policy as well as how the coalition may address important challenges facing the country.