The U.S.’s Putin Dilemma: Talk Tough and Then What?

A day after Russia confirmed that it has ordered its troops to secure airports, government buildings, and other strategic sites in Crimea, U.S. officials stepped up their criticisms of Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, but stopped short of any immediate actions. Appearing on the Sunday talk shows, Secretary of State John Kerry used the sort of language rarely heard from a diplomat, especially one who, only last summer, pulled off a deal with Moscow that averted a U.S. military strike on Syria.

“It’s an incredible act of aggression,” Kerry said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “It is really a stunning, willful choice by President Putin to invade another country.” On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Kerry raised the prospect of Western countries imposing economic sanctions on Moscow, including freezing Russian-owned financial assets—a tactic that has been used against Iran. “We are now discussing all the options,” Kerry said. He went on to accuse Putin of indulging in “nineteenth-century behavior,” adding, “You don’t invade another country on a phony pretext to protect your interests.”

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