Reuters: Russia Warns Western Support for Kiev Could Lead to 'Catastrophe'
WNU Editor: Dire warnings from Russia's ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) .... but he is not alone .... former Soviet leader Gorbachev also thinks we are heading that way .... Gorbachev: US dragging Russia into new Cold War, which might grow into armed conflict (RT). More here.
Reactions among U.S. officials have been along this line .... Psaki Says US Disagrees It Is in Cold War With Russia (Sputnik), while European leaders are basically saying that they will do "something" if the following should happen .... EU would have to respond to large military offensive in Ukraine: Steinmeier (Reuters) .... but they are not specific on what they would exactly do.
The opinions of 1,000 scholars on this subject can be seen here .... and there is a significant number who believe that war may come (see the above graph). But the best predictions have come from the usual pundits and commentators .... doom and gloom .... Ukraine looking more like Poland on the brink of World War Two (John Lloyd, Reuters) .... to "throwing in the towel" .... Sorry, Ukraine, You Can't Beat Putin (Marc Champion, Bloomberg).
As to what is my take .... I know that on the streets of Moscow the last thing that is on people's minds is war. I know that on the streets of Washington .... my friends who live there have other things on their minds .... and war with Russia is not one of them. And guess what ... they are right .... we are not heading to war with Russia. But tough times in the relationship have arrived, and they will only start to get back to normal when the fever of war has receded in Ukraine.
WNU Editor,
ReplyDeleteRussia does not need to go to war with the Ukraine, it just needs to keep the vorentorag open, and let the volenteers in.
NATO and the EU will not go to war on the Ukraine's behalf, no matter how bad Ukraine loses, as they have neither the manpower, nor risk direct confrontation, as what deployable forces they have are spread thin across the Magreb and the Middle East in poorly chosen wars of choice.
The "danger" is that the War in Ukraine will cause the divide to fester, the acrimony to build, and sometime in the future, a misstep by say Poland, could lead to an actual war.
I agree. France does not need to be in Mali.
ReplyDeleteLet Al Qaeda have it.