... Franks: After the conclusion of an arms deal between Russia and Venezuela, President Putin was called a “thugocrat” engaged in “dangerous alliances.
Keep in mind all of the above statements were uttered before the 2014 crisis in Ukraine even broke out. So before the U.S. Congress received what has been portrayed as undeniable and irrefutable proof of Russian aggression in Ukraine, it was already quite prepared to view Russia as a corrupt kleptocracy willfully abusing human rights ...
... struggle was simple—dissolve the state that Gorbachev headed. This he accomplished by conspiring with the Presidents of Ukraine and Belarus, who met secretly at Belovezhskaya Pushcha on 8 December 1991, to dissolve the Soviet Union. I will leave ... ... trouble.
Some of these unresolved, and poorly-resolved issues are at the roots of the current crisis in Ukraine. The fate of Crimea, for example, was a highly complex matter. It should have been carefully examined and negotiated, instead of being left ...
... golf resort in Wales, United Kingdom, to discuss all of the supposedly egregious and disconcerting Russian maneuvers against Ukraine and demanding that Russia stop inviting further sanctions and pressure against itself, as British Prime Minister David ... ... worries more about microphone asides from the American President compared to official French and German policy? I have a bridge to Crimea to sell you if you believe that. Which is an interesting segue come to think of it!
In the West one of the more powerful ...
The interplay between Ukraine and Russia when it comes to gas geopolitics goes far beyond economic negotiations ... ... agreement Russia and Ukraine had signed earlier about the presence of the Russian Navy in Crimea. That agreement was already in place and allowed the Russian Navy to be housed... ... Russia only as the ‘Bond villain country’ it was designated during the Cold War. How else do we account for the constant engagement by American political actors...
Not that anyone would notice, but there is a disturbing and quite frankly depressing reality taking place in eastern Ukraine. While it is true the conflict that rages has been largely downplayed now and shoved off the media spotlight in the West,... ... situation on the ground in eastern Ukraine. In several media interviews I gave in the United States following the referendum in Crimea, I warned that the greatest possible danger in Ukraine would be civil groups in major eastern Ukrainian cities looking ...
... countries that discovered soon enough that identifying the problems was far easier than actually solving them. In that I suspect Ukraine will be no different, no matter how many elections, reforms, or ‘repositions’ the country goes through. But ... ... calls. Obviously, this has proven to be a rather large mistake.
A second aspect to play out from the Maidan revolution (the Crimean referendum) is also rather unique and an academic ‘special case study’ worthy of greater attention that as ...
... commitment for strengthening sanctions and isolating (or is it shaming?) Russia after the Crimea annexation (or is it secession?) was fairly uneventful. The fact of the matter... ... Russian incursion into a whole host of different areas, most notably the Eastern half of Ukraine. There are very few American reporters venturing an alternative viewpoint (the... ... horrible to these rather dull thinkers still stuck in and/or pining for the return of a Cold War environment full of purpose and dire circumstances is that they won’t...
Starting to heat up the internet (well, at least in Russia and Eastern Ukraine, while likely not even to be acknowledged in Western Europe) is a hacked telephone call last week between the former Deputy ... ... just over two minutes, pulls no punches as Tymoshenko and Shufrich basically excoriate everyone associated with the events in Crimea, regretting they are not able to, in turn, shoot people in the head, fire nuclear weapons on them, and march down to Crimea ...
These are the days of our Spring discontent. It is ironic to consider that as events continue to unfold in Crimea the path that might hold the most hope for future peace and stability is the one that guarantees all sides being at least somewhat disappointed. Allow me to elaborate:
Why Ukraine should be disappointed: Crimea is done. As the famous Southern saying in America goes, ‘closing the barn door after the horses have left doesn’t do much good.’ Authorities in Kiev are understandably displeased. They will remain ...
... remaining with Ukraine. However, the 1992 constitution which it cites foresees giving the region effective independence within Ukraine, but with the right to determine its own path and choose relations with whom it wants - including with Russia.’ ... ... the utmost seriousness and have high personal standards of integrity. The problem, as I mentioned, is a pervasive subconscious Cold War residue that has major influence on how uninformed readers around the world learn about the situation in Crimea and Russia’s role there. For example, the 1992 constitution mentioned above is the UKRAINIAN Constitution, not the ...
