This week EURUS professor Piotr Dutkiewicz was a guest panelist on The Current, CBC radio’s flagship current affairs program. In conversation with host Anna Maria Tremonti, Prof. Dutkiewicz outlines why the conflict in Ukraine is now on the brink of full scale civil war. One of the key problems he argues is that “both sides think that they can gain at the moment and that is why the intensity of the conflict is so high… this increase in hostilities is the prelude to the next phase of serious negotiations for how to stop this bloody conflict.”
Commenting on the recently proposed new round of economic sanctions against Russia by European leaders, Prof. Dutkiewicz cautions that “oil is only part of the problem”. He stresses that while the existing US/EU led sanctions have successfully put the intended pressure on the Russian economy, the sanctions have also produced many serious unintended consequences such as -for instance- a growing sense of Russian nationalism and anti-western sentiment amongst supporters as well as critics of President Putin.
To hear the full program please click here. (The interview with Prof. Dutkiewicz begins at 14:40).