While the analogy of Vladimir Putin playing geopolitical chess (while the rest of the world plays checkers) has been a popular one, the French ambassador Gerard Araud has a different – somewhat stunningly honest – persepctive: Putin “is more a poker player really, putting all the money on the table; saying, ‘Do the same’ and of course we blink. We don’t do the same.” As Bloomberg reports, Araud goes on to express entirely un-Juncker-like, how Putin has outmaneuvered his opponents and humiliated Ukraine. Simply put, he adds, the Russian president “has won because we were not ready to die for Ukraine, while apparently he was,” leaving the ominous question, “when is Putin going to stop? Whatever we decide is a disaster for us.”
Vladimir Putin has outmaneuvered his opponents and humiliated Ukraineby continuing to back pro-Russian separatists and flouting a cease-fire, making it crucial that sanctions on Russia remain firm, France’s ambassador to the U.S. said.
The Russian president “has won because we were not ready to die for Ukraine, while apparently he was,”Ambassador Gerard Araud said yesterday at a Bloomberg Government breakfast in Washington… Echoing the view of other European envoys in Washington,Araud expressed concern that the Ukraine conflict has hit an impasse, leaving Putin the winner by default.
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