In this interview with President Obama you have an open admission of his leftist doctrine and how he and his administration do not see an ideological battle for controls of EU nations as a modern concept.
In essence Obama is saying we don’t see Europe as a geography to fight for territorial control or influence.   Meanwhile Russia, and Vladimir Putin, see Europe as EXACTLY THAT, a geography to mold and influence; and the growth of Russia to its former Soviet stature is exactly his intent.

EUROPE – President Obama has told a Dutch newspaper that the United States does not see the ongoing crisis in Crimea and Ukraine as a “zero-sum game” between Washington and Moscow as pro-Russian forces reportedly overran a third Ukrainian military base in the Black Sea peninsula Monday.
In the interview, published in Monday’s edition of de Volkskrant, Obama said:

“The United States does not view Europe as a battleground between East and West, nor do we see the situation in Ukraine as a zero-sum game. That’s the kind of thinking that should have ended with the Cold War.”

 

The president went on to say, “The Ukrainian people do not have to choose between East and West. On the contrary, it’s important that Ukraine have good relations with the United States, Russia, and Europe. As I’ve said, the future of Ukraine ought to be decided by the people of Ukraine.”  (read more)