Amb. Power: ‘Isolating’ Putin ‘Has Had Profound Effects’ on His International ‘Stature’

‘Isolating him has had profound effects, as you know, on Russia’s economy and his own sense of stature on the international stage’

RADDATZ: "And let’s dig into all of this now with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power. She joins us from New York. Thanks, Ambassador Power."
POWER: "Great to be here."
RADDATZ: "So Putin has seized Crimea. He’s propping up Assad. His fighters jets have been buzzing U.S. and NATO planes and ships. Why is the president meeting with him? Does he think isolating him has failed?"
POWER: "Well, isolating him has had profound effects, as you know, on Russia’s economy and his own sense of stature on the international stage, which is why I think he’s reaching out in a whole host of ways – that is, President Putin reaching out. A hallmark of President Obama’s foreign policy from the beginning has been to test engagement. And given the stakes – the human stakes, the strategic stakes of what’s going on in Ukraine and Syria – the president believed it would be irresponsible to let this occasion in which the two leaders would be in the same city pass without trying to test to see whether progress could be made on these newly intractable crises."

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