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Washington Post: US sanctions on Russia over Ukraine would buy negotiating power
Russia and the United States have pursued dramatically different strategies on Ukraine in the 10 days preceding a diplomatic meeting Thursday in Geneva. While loudly denouncing what it has described as direct Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine and threatening tough sanctions, the Obama administration elected not to take any concrete action in the hope that the meeting, which also includes the foreign ministers of Ukraine and the European Union, will produce positive results. The administration also has refused Ukraine's desperate requests for non-lethal aid for its military as it attempts to turn back the quasi-covert offensive.