Ukraine is at an impasse. Nothing but diplomacy, real diplomacy that is, can help it cross that bridge. Sanctions, threat of sanction, flexing of muscles, tough talk do much to exacerbate the situation, and the US government believes those are tools of diplomacy.

Just a few weeks after the residents of Crimea, Ukraine voted to rejoin Russia Federation, Ukraine residents in the eastern part of the country came out in drove to express similar sentiments. The Ukraine crisis is certainly a dilemma, but it’s hardly a concern to the United States.

Imagine for a moment that during a heated discussion among members of your large family, a visitor injects himself into the fray and begins to defend one side. Imagine further that the visitor calls the other side crook, conniving, lazy and so on. Imagine that scenario for a moment.

Currently in Ukraine, there is such a discussion among the Ukrainians; US, the visitor, injects itself into the fray, takes and defends one side and attaches derogatory labels – such as terrorist – to the other side. “We are all Ukrainians, and we are here to vote. We are not terrorists.”said Irina, a voter during an interview with an NBC News reporter, calling out US double standard approach to the crisis.

No objective observer would shrug off the need for a resolution to the impasse in Ukraine; however, no logical person would approve of the US involvement and approach as ways to solve the crisis either. As I mentioned in my previous posting, Russia’s interest in what’s going on in Ukraine is high and justified, not so for the US. If the Obama administration is indeed serious about helping the Ukrainians, it must lift the sanctions imposed on Russian Officials, stop the threats of more sanctions and the flexing of muscles. This is hardly the way to help mend the rifts among members of the same family.

How would you help Ukraine without angering one side or the other?

Follow Mike Ducheine on Twitter: @mducheiney

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