Here's U.S. President Barack Obama at a meeting yesterday with the President's Export Council, which serves as the principal national advisory committee on international trade:
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin does not have good cards and he actually has not played them as well as, sometimes, the Western press seems to give him credit for. There has been an improvisational quality to this whole process because the situation in Ukraine actually took Russia by surprise. And, it is working for him, politically, domestically but profoundly damaging in terms of their economy long-term, not just short-term."
"Where Putin will succeed is if it creates a rift in the trans-Atlantic relationship. If you start seeing Europe divided from the United States, that would be a strategic victory and I am intent on preventing that. And, the way to prevent it is making sure that we are taking into account the very real economic impact on Europe from these sanctions, being measured in terms of how we apply them, and having some strategic patience."
"The notion that we can simply ratchet up sanctions further and further and further and then ultimately Putin changes his mind, I think is a miscalculation."
"What will, ultimately, lead to Russia making a strategic decision is if they recognize that Europe is standing with us, and will be in it for the long haul, and we are, in fact, patient. If they see that there aren't any cracks in the coalition, then, over time, you could see them saying that the costs to their economy outweigh whatever strategic benefits that they get."
Unclear who "most sources" are:
Not a new assertion, but it is important to note that no preliminary investigation that's been published so far has included the "Russian" part -- just "strong suspicion that a surface-to-air missile" brought it down. Although U.S. and German intelligence sources have suggested they believe it was Russian or pro-Russian forces who fired the missile.
From our newsroom:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says there is a chance to end the war in eastern Ukraine and called for new peace talks.
Lavrov was speaking in Moscow on December 12, hours after Ukrainian President Petro Posrohenko said that a "real" cease-fire is now in place between government forces and pro-Russian separatists.
Lavrov said that "a chance to establish peace in Ukraine has emerged. It has been difficult, but a truce has been established, a cease-fire regime has been established."
He said, "We need to find a way to resume the work of the Contact Group" -- the mechanism for talks between representatives of Ukraine, the rebels, Russia, and the OSCE, which produced a September 5 agreement on a cedase-fire and steps toward peace.
Lavrov said there is now a "constructive base to move forward" on the "economic restoration" of the regions affected by the conflict and "establishing political dialogue that should eventually lead to a constitutional reform" in Ukraine.
Russia insists it supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and has repeatedly called on Kyiv to establish direct dialogue with separatist authorities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Based on reporting by RIA Novosti, Reuters, and Interfax