CBS White House correspondent Major Garrett asked White House press secretary Jay Carney Monday if there is any sense in Washington, D.C. or other European capitals that current diplomatic efforts with Russia are catastrophically failing.
Garrett cited Russia's continued provocations in destabilizing Eastern Ukraine and reports that a Russian plane "buzzed" a U.S. Naval vessel last weekend as evidence Moscow is not heeding any warnings coming from the Obama administration.
Carney offered a somewhat surprising response, telling Garrett the premise of his question is mistaken in that it is based on the flawed assumption that "all the United States ever has to do when something happens in the world that we don't like is say, stop it, and they'll stop":
MAJOR GARRETT: Picking up on Michelle's question, last one, you just said Russia continues to destabilize the situation, act in a provocative way, now buzzing the -- a U.S. warship. Isn't there a sense in the administration and in the European capitals with which you are collaboratively dealing with that what is going on is not working;that whatever signals you're sending, they're either not being heeded or misread; and this entire approach, which is to not escalate, isn't working, and everything the Russians are doing is continuing to escalate the situation, overriding what they may see and some editorial critics have regarded as passivity by the West?
JAY CARNEY: Well, no, Major, because the premise of the question is based on the notion that all the United States ever has to do when something happens in the world that we don't like is say, stop it, and they'll stop. We are taking concerted action with our allies and partners that is imposing costs on Russia for what Russia has done, making clear that much more significant costs will be imposed on Russia, should they continue down this path.
The White House press secretary's admission that words will not be enough to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin's provocations appears to mark a departure from the Obama administration's "reset" policy championed under former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.