Stop the Untouchables. Justice for Sergei Magnitsky.

Get tougher with Vladimir Putin

Boston Globe

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to forego the G8 summit this weekend at Camp David is a noteworthy snub that merits a stiff response. Putin’s absence has engendered a lot of heated speculation. Is Putin honestly, as he alleges, too busy? Or is it a combination of domestic unrest, a potential Kremlin power struggle, and his annoyance at the United States for raising its displeasure about the violence against recent demonstrations that has kept him away?

Whatever the reason, Putin has made clear that his ambitions are not, as the Obama Administration has hoped for too long, to move towards an historic and sweeping nuclear reduction accord. This fact should now free the Obama Administration from the need to mute its criticisms of Putin’s anti-democratic tendencies and disrespect for human rights. The G8 was one snub too many.