Putin's aim has been to recover Russia's great power status by giving itself a veto over major aspects of European and East-West affairs, and by bringing the other former Soviet republics back under Russian control. It is so far not evident that, in the Kremlin's eyes, the danger of internal unrest arising from the worsening economic situation in Russia has reached the point where it counter-balances the potential political damage, both at home and abroad, of a Russian retreat on Ukraine. A Russian withdrawal could deal a serious blow to the Eurasian Economic Union and to Russia's pretensions to great-power status. Under the circumstances, Canada and the West should  continue to pursue negotiations with Russia. Until there is a satisfactory settlement, we must keep robust sanctions against Russia, maintain our support for Ukraine, and regardless of the outcome, continue to strengthen NATO.