Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to destabilize Western democracies in an effort to shape global events to his own interests, says a former Ukrainian finance minister who has seen firsthand Russian machinations overwhelm her country.
“This is about the Kremlin wanting to destroy what we’ll call the ‘liberal post-World War II international order,’ which is based on democracy, human rights, territorial integrity, sovereignty of nations,” Natalie Jaresko told David Axelrod on “The Axe Files,” a podcast from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN.
“They’re testing what brought us peace,” Jaresko added. “Russia is a global power from a nuclear weapons standpoint, but their economy is smaller than Italy’s. If you want to be powerful in this world, you have to change what power is and how it is seen.”
Disrupting the alliances that help maintain international stability is at the core of Putin’s efforts to remake the global order, according to Jaresko.
And President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal last week suggests a repositioning of American foreign policy away from a cooperative, global approach and towards an isolationist one — a move that could further degrade alliances and, Jaresko fears, benefit our adversaries.
“If you can create a disrupted system where alliances start to fail, where people no longer believe in alliances, then you have everyone out for themselves,” Jaresko said. “And if you have every country out there for themselves, it’s much easier for the Kremlin, with its skills, and with its funds, to separate all of us.”
Yet Jaresko argues that the consequences of an “America First” policy might ultimately harm American citizens the most.
The United States “benefits from peace in the world, from global trade, from being part of a larger community, whether it’s from education or exchanges. The cost would be very disruptive,” she warned.
After the conversation with Jaresko took place, Trump provoked a public spat with the Mexican president over Trump’s proposed border wall, which has soured relations with America’s neighbor and a large trading partner.
Days later, Trump signed a controversial executive order at least temporarily banning refugees from seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa from entering the US, which has been met with legal challenges from federal judges across the country.
The potential shift in diplomatic relations from the new administration elicited concern from the former finance minister. Jaresko described the level of anxiety in Ukraine as “quite high” about where the United States stands in relation Russia and Ukraine. Despite this, Jaresko remains hopeful.
“I think Ukrainians are still waiting to see. They’re very, very hopeful that this bipartisan consensus in Congress will continue to support and defend Ukraine.”
“The goal is to live in a world where we live by the values and the principles that we believe in. If Russia leaves Eastern Ukraine and returns Crimea, we’re all for better relations,” Jaresko said. “France and Germany are today allies, and they were terrible enemies at one time. That’s all possible, but it’s not possible at the cost of Ukrainian sovereignty.”
The degradation of alliances and the march toward isolationism, Jaresko says, has her particularly worried about the upcoming elections in France and Germany, where nationalist movements threaten to overpower each country’s politics, which could be a boon to Russia.
“I’m very nervous about the (impending) French and German elections,” Jaresko said. “I think Chancellor (Angela) Merkel is holding Europe together right now against all odds. Which makes her an even bigger target for Putin.”
Resisting the Kremlin’s attacks, Jaresko argued, will test the collective resolve of western democracies
“What’s happened (in the United States_, what’s happening in Europe, and what’s happened in Ukraine needs to bring us all together even more closely rather than to be more divided.”
To hear the complete conversation with Jaresko, which also touched on her efforts to combat corruption in post-revolution Ukraine, why her father was resistant to her pursuit of public service and the future of global markets under the new Trump administration, go to http://podcast.cnn.com. To get “The Axe Files” podcast every week, subscribe at http://itunes.com/theaxefiles.