Was Vladimir Putin foolish to sign that agreement since the intent of the West, according to Merkle, was to betray the terms?
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Was Vladimir Putin foolish to sign that agreement since the intent of the West, according to Merkle, was to betray the terms?
I am not sure that Putin and the Russians expected international legitimacy since the Obama administration sanctioned Russia.
The U.S. first imposed sanctions on Russia over Ukraine in 2014 under President Obama. These sanctions were in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. They targeted Russian individuals, entities, and sectors like finance and energy.
Trump was not the first to sanction Russia. However, his administration did impose additional sanctions starting in 2017, including measures under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which expanded penalties for Russia's actions in Ukraine, cyberattacks, and other issues.
Hard to think Putin overlooked this. Do you agree?
It is likely that if the West has held to the terms of the Minsk agreement, Putin might not have invaded Ukraine in 2022. This is not a popular narrative with the Western media but the leaders basically admitted they were trying to get one over on Putin.
This is the situation with Donbas:
It has to be one of the reasons Putin invaded in 2022.