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Russia blinks

OK they are not raising the ante- just four British diplomats unjustifiably expelled as a straight tit for tat.

Meanwhile the rest of the EU has slowly stirred themselves to mutter a bit against Russia. If there is any further problem, one would hope that a "common foreign policy" position might emerge that was a bit more proactive. Britain, Poland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania now all have significant grievances with the Putinists, others too are increasingly annoyed- will Russia now calm down, if faced with a United front?

That is up to the Kremlin- but patience with Russia is wearing very thin.
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Anonymous said…
Cicero,

You are wise, but not always. Russia's advantage over the years has always been its ability to manipulate situations that resulted in people not being able to unite despite their common grievance with Russia.

During the Cold War, left-wing movements, peaceniks, CND people and so forth dented our commonn efforts against Soviet efforts; luckily NATO held, despite the major divisions.

Every time there is chaos somewhere, Russia exploits it -- the flip-flop after Barbarossa was launched; attacking Germany in the Baltics after Brest-Litovsk, eating up Georgia and others despite contracts, Molotov-Ribbentrop, etc.

Post-1991 they try to keep the Baltics arguing with divide-and-conquer tactics. Same with NATO members.

There is little chance that all those countries with grievances against Russia will join in an effort. Sad, but true. This is how Russia has an advantage.
10:16 pm
Anonymous said…
Cicero,


All the people you mention were guilty of more than shall we say affairs of the heart. You do I think adopt a rather censorious tone on Boris. Were he guilty of perjury like Archer or even hypocrisy like Mellor I could see your point. But nowhere has he presumed to lecture anyone else on their private life, and I do not see why therefore he is shameless or demented. He did not invite the News of the World to follow him around. I do not understand where therefore you get this sense of moral outrage from unless it's the Daily Mail.


On Russia can you explain why you are bigging this up. Lugovoi is still there, and there is nothing we can do about it. Frankly we have too big a need to talk the Russians on too many things. How much you like to bet, this is the last we hear of this affair for a very long time in this Country

Lepidus
3:42 pm
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