EU leader, Donald Tusk, and President Obama meet to discuss Ukraine

By Catherine Kent

President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, seems to be taking a cautious approach in response  to the situation in Ukraine. Tusk and President Obama met on Monday, March 9 in Washington, D.C. to discuss the United States and the European Union’s next steps regarding Russia. As Obama urges European members to meet their NATO commitments on defense spending and take a firmer stance alongside the U.S. in countering Russian influence in Ukraine, Tusk is hesitant to tighten sanctions against Russia before he can build a consensus between the 28 democracies he oversees.

Tusk explained to Obama that he believes Russia is trying to divide EU member countries from one another as well as from the U.S. With some aggressive lobbying from groups in Britain, France, Germany and now a new left-wing government party in Greece, however, Tusk’s task of uniting the 28 democracies is now more difficult