Three key questions may address the competing, starkly different U.S.-Western narratives of the crisis:
1. Should Ukraine be the organizing principle of relations with Russia?
Does the West want to make the fate of Crimea and, by extension, Ukraine the central organizing principle of structuring relations with Russia? Sentiment might motivate the West to formulate a Ukraine policy and base relations with Russia accordingly. Realism dictates the West should first formulate a Russia policy, and then address the Ukraine crisis within that strategic framework.