 "Obama says allies are 'united' on Ukraine")
US President Barack Obama began a four-day visit to Europe on Monday with a quick tour of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, home to many of the masterworks of Rembrandt and other celebrated Dutch painters, before starting a series of critical consultations with allies about the fast-moving situation in Ukraine.
Obama's trip is already being overshadowed by the actions of President Vladimir V Putin of Russia. The country's forces seized another Ukrainian military base in Crimea early Monday, as Obama and other world leaders gathered in the Netherlands. Obama has called an emergency meeting of the Group of 7 industrial nations that will convene here Monday evening.
"Europe and America are united in our support of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people," Obama said in a brief statement after touring the museum with Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister.
Obama made the remarks while standing in front of "The Night Watch," Rembrandt's depiction of a group of 17th-century militiamen. Obama called it "easily the most impressive backdrop I've had for a press conference." After leaving the museum, Obama headed to The Hague for the start of a summit meeting on nuclear security with 52 other world leaders.
The setting in The Hague of the improvised Group of 7 session and the nuclear security meeting in itself contrasts with the worldview recently offered by Putin and his power play in Ukraine. The standoff is also in stark contrast to the more hopeful tone struck by President Bill Clinton in 1997 during a visit to the Netherlands and France to mark progress toward the post-Soviet unification of Europe.
"In the twilight of the 20th century, we look toward a new century with a new Russia and a new NATO, working together in a new Europe of unlimited possibility," Mr. Clinton said in Paris that year. "The NATO-Russia Founding Act we have just signed joins a great nation and history's most successful alliance in common cause for a long-sought but never before realised goal - a peaceful, democratic, undivided Europe."
That vision was a distant memory as President Obama on Monday repeated his intent to keep ratcheting up pressure on Putin. "We're united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far," Obama said, adding that "the growing sanctions would bring significant consequences to the Russian economy."
In an earlier briefing in Washington last week, Susan E Rice, the president's national security adviser, bluntly acknowledged that the United States was fundamentally reassessing its relationship with Russia. She said the United States wanted to integrate Russia into the world economy but that Putin's actions called that policy into question.
"What we have seen in Ukraine is obviously a very egregious departure from that," Rice told reporters. "And, it is causing the countries and people of Europe and the international community and, of course, the United States to reassess what does this mean and what are the implications."
The Hague, generally a tranquil city of just under half a million inhabitants, numerous canals and ubiquitous bike paths, is home to both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and over the years has attracted some 160 organisations associated with peace, international justice and security.
The Peace Palace, a neo-Gothic structure that houses the International Court of Justice, was opened with great fanfare in August 1913 by Andrew Carnegie. Just a year later, Europe descended into the hell of World War I, rendering the Palace a symbol of humanity's greatest hopes and disappointments.
The Netherlands is so proud of its peaceable modern identity that the duty of the government to promote the development of international law is written into the country's Constitution. The United Nations tribunal on war crimes in the Balkans in the 1990s spurred a new influx of institutions and experts committed to high ideals of international justice.
Residents of the city were not universally delighted by the two-day nuclear security summit meeting this week, however. The presence of 53 heads of state and government, led by Obama, who brought the usual heavy White House security detail with him - mean that much of the city has been closed off around the summit meeting venue.
Several businesses were asked to close or to have employees work from home. Tens of thousands of police officers and border guards have been deployed in the city, its surroundings and on trains and other transport coming to "the international city of peace and justice," as The Hague likes to style itself.
Obama met with President Xi Jinping of China before participating in the nuclear security sessions to discuss how to secure or destroy dangerous stockpiles of nuclear material that could be used to build bombs if they are stolen by terrorists. The two-day nuclear talks are the third such meeting of world leaders since Obama took office and a central part of his promise in 2009 to seek a future that is not threatened by nuclear weapons.
Before meeting with Xi, Obama told reporters the two would discuss climate change, the situation in Ukraine and efforts to stop North Korea's nuclear ambitions. He also said he planned to raise with Xi issues that have added to tensions between China and the United States in recent years.
Obama said the two leaders would use the meeting to "work through frictions that exist in our relations around issues like human rights, in dealing with maritime issues in the South China Sea and the Pacific region, in a way that is constructive and hopefully will lead to resolutions."
He added he intended to talk about economic issues and trade in the hopes of making sure that "we are both abiding by the rules that allow for us to create jobs and prosperity in both of our countries."
Obama's trip is already being overshadowed by the actions of President Vladimir V Putin of Russia. The country's forces seized another Ukrainian military base in Crimea early Monday, as Obama and other world leaders gathered in the Netherlands. Obama has called an emergency meeting of the Group of 7 industrial nations that will convene here Monday evening.
"Europe and America are united in our support of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people," Obama said in a brief statement after touring the museum with Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister.
Obama made the remarks while standing in front of "The Night Watch," Rembrandt's depiction of a group of 17th-century militiamen. Obama called it "easily the most impressive backdrop I've had for a press conference." After leaving the museum, Obama headed to The Hague for the start of a summit meeting on nuclear security with 52 other world leaders.
The setting in The Hague of the improvised Group of 7 session and the nuclear security meeting in itself contrasts with the worldview recently offered by Putin and his power play in Ukraine. The standoff is also in stark contrast to the more hopeful tone struck by President Bill Clinton in 1997 during a visit to the Netherlands and France to mark progress toward the post-Soviet unification of Europe.
"In the twilight of the 20th century, we look toward a new century with a new Russia and a new NATO, working together in a new Europe of unlimited possibility," Mr. Clinton said in Paris that year. "The NATO-Russia Founding Act we have just signed joins a great nation and history's most successful alliance in common cause for a long-sought but never before realised goal - a peaceful, democratic, undivided Europe."
That vision was a distant memory as President Obama on Monday repeated his intent to keep ratcheting up pressure on Putin. "We're united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far," Obama said, adding that "the growing sanctions would bring significant consequences to the Russian economy."
In an earlier briefing in Washington last week, Susan E Rice, the president's national security adviser, bluntly acknowledged that the United States was fundamentally reassessing its relationship with Russia. She said the United States wanted to integrate Russia into the world economy but that Putin's actions called that policy into question.
"What we have seen in Ukraine is obviously a very egregious departure from that," Rice told reporters. "And, it is causing the countries and people of Europe and the international community and, of course, the United States to reassess what does this mean and what are the implications."
The Hague, generally a tranquil city of just under half a million inhabitants, numerous canals and ubiquitous bike paths, is home to both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and over the years has attracted some 160 organisations associated with peace, international justice and security.
The Peace Palace, a neo-Gothic structure that houses the International Court of Justice, was opened with great fanfare in August 1913 by Andrew Carnegie. Just a year later, Europe descended into the hell of World War I, rendering the Palace a symbol of humanity's greatest hopes and disappointments.
The Netherlands is so proud of its peaceable modern identity that the duty of the government to promote the development of international law is written into the country's Constitution. The United Nations tribunal on war crimes in the Balkans in the 1990s spurred a new influx of institutions and experts committed to high ideals of international justice.
Residents of the city were not universally delighted by the two-day nuclear security summit meeting this week, however. The presence of 53 heads of state and government, led by Obama, who brought the usual heavy White House security detail with him - mean that much of the city has been closed off around the summit meeting venue.
Several businesses were asked to close or to have employees work from home. Tens of thousands of police officers and border guards have been deployed in the city, its surroundings and on trains and other transport coming to "the international city of peace and justice," as The Hague likes to style itself.
Obama met with President Xi Jinping of China before participating in the nuclear security sessions to discuss how to secure or destroy dangerous stockpiles of nuclear material that could be used to build bombs if they are stolen by terrorists. The two-day nuclear talks are the third such meeting of world leaders since Obama took office and a central part of his promise in 2009 to seek a future that is not threatened by nuclear weapons.
Before meeting with Xi, Obama told reporters the two would discuss climate change, the situation in Ukraine and efforts to stop North Korea's nuclear ambitions. He also said he planned to raise with Xi issues that have added to tensions between China and the United States in recent years.
Obama said the two leaders would use the meeting to "work through frictions that exist in our relations around issues like human rights, in dealing with maritime issues in the South China Sea and the Pacific region, in a way that is constructive and hopefully will lead to resolutions."
He added he intended to talk about economic issues and trade in the hopes of making sure that "we are both abiding by the rules that allow for us to create jobs and prosperity in both of our countries."
©2014 The New York Times News Service