Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel discussed in a phone call the situation around the current ceasefire regime and deliveries of gas to Europe. © RIA Novosti. Alexei Nikolsky
How Putin Got His Way In Ukraine -- Simon Shuster, Time
By agreeing to delay the full implementation of a trade deal with Ukraine, the European Union effectively accepted Moscow’s dominance
After all the lives and territory Ukraine has lost this year, it’s easy to lose sight of the way its conflict with Russia began last winter, when Moscow tried to elbow its way into Ukraine’s economic pact with Europe. In response, thousands of ordinary Ukrainians went onto the streets to tell Russia to mind its own business, and the upheavals that followed—from the violent revolution in Kiev to the Russian annexation of Crimea and the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine—have all stemmed from that confrontation. But they might all have been avoided if the European Union (E.U.) had involved Russia in the process from the outset. On Friday, it finally did.
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Update: Putin Just Got Exactly What He Wanted in Eastern Ukraine -- Linda Kinstler, New Republic
My Comment: There are a few hiccups .... Ruble plunges to new lows, authorities tell Russians not to panic (Sydney Morning Herald) .... but overall .... Putin has a lot to be smiling about.
1 comment:
Why would Putin be smiling?
Following the Coup, this is what The East wanted as a minimum, and could have easily been negotiated, instead, their had to be the threats, the violence, the Odessa Trades murders, and then the Civil War.
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