U.S., EU sanctions can stop Russian aggression against Ukraine - Fukuyama

Keeping the current EU and U.S. sanctions against Russia in place can help end the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Francis Fukuyama, a well-known U.S. philosopher, political scientist, professor at the Stanford University, said this during a conversation with journalists in Vienna on Thursday as part of Tipping Point Talks organized by the ERSTE Foundation, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

When asked by the agency's correspondent about what needs to be done to stop Russian aggression against the Ukrainian state while maintaining its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Fukuyama said that a solution to the problem lies in continuing the policy that Europe and the United States are following in terms of sanctions.

The political scientist said that he was disappointed by the international community's response to the Kerch Strait incident last autumn when Russian troops launched an attack against Ukrainian Navy vessels: "I was actually disappointed that there wasn't a stronger joint condemnation of [Russia's actions] and not more pressure put on Russia to lift the blockade [of the Azov Sea]."

In view of this, Fukuyama thinks the question is whether Europe and America can sustain pressure on Russia.

"In the case of the United States, we have a very unprecedented policy towards Russia where the U.S. Congress and American bureaucracy - the State Department, the Defense Department – all are very hostile to Russia. They've actually imposed sanctions at the level that [former U.S. President Barack] Obama was not willing to go to. They've provided military assistance to Ukraine. There's only one person who doesn't like this policy, and he happens to be the president of the United States," the professor said.

According to him, it's just a "weird situation" in the U.S. where the president "is completely at odds with his own bureaucracy and doesn't seem to be able to get his way in terms of expressing his preferences."

"I do think that there's a real danger in that because, for example, I mean Russia could decide to invade Ukraine, the rest of Ukraine. If I were [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and I were inclined to do this, this might be a good time to do it when you have a president whose willingness to back Ukraine militarily was questionable. So, I think there are dangers in the current situation," the political scientist said.

In the case of the European Union, he added, the situation is similar, given current populist processes.

"The task now is just to hold on to the existing [sanctions] policy, to not see it dissolve. In the EU, it's a big problem because if Italy and Hungary and other populists do well in the European election, most of them actually would want a much more friendly policy towards Russia and that might start to lead to more pressure to lift sanctions," he said.

"I think the best we can hope for is actually just to keep the existing pressure on," Fukuyama said.