Russian President Vladimir Putin, 69, expressed concerns over NATO, U.S. and EU influence in the Black Sea region close to the Russian border. Putin was especially concerned about Ukraine’s continued defiance of the Minsk Agreement, allowing Ukraine to consolidate its border but, at the same time, reject a Feb. 22, 2014 CIA-backed coup that toppled the Kremlin-backed government in Kiev of Viktor Yankovych. Western officials slam Putin for seizing the Crimean Peninsula March 1, 2014, after watching 50-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko lead a coup to toppleYanukovych’s government. Klitschko currently serves a mayor of Kiev joining 43 –year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in seeking NATO membership. Klitschko and Zelensky think joining NATO would trigger military action to battle Moscow to reclaim the Crimean Peninsula.
U.S., EU, and NATO refuse to acknowledge that they drove the Kremlin to invade Crimea because of the illegal coup that toppled Yanukovych’s government. Western officials only blame Putin for invading Crimea, denying that they had anything to do with the Feb. 22, 2014 coup. Putin said while his dialogue with 79-year-old President Joe Biden in Geneva June 16 was amicable, may issues of conflict remain, especially the U.S., EU and NATO continue to impinge on Russian sovereignty in the Black Sea. Talking to Biden eventually tapped some opportunities for dialogue and for the gradual leveling and correction of relations,” but there’s been very little follow-up. Biden finds himself caught between in rock-and-a-hard-place in Bosnia, requiring some help from Putin with Srpska leader Milorad Dodik who’s been threatening to commandeer the Bosnian army.
If Biden had any rapport with Putin, he’d be more than willing to lend his support to the Bosnian crisis. “Joint activities [with Washington] on strategic stability and information security have started,” Putin said, adding “on many issues our interests, estimations, position differ dramatically.” Putin’s referring to Biden’s accusations that the Kremlin supports Russian cyber gangs that have been blackmailing the West with cyber-crime, something Putin emphatically denies. Putin told Biden that If any ransomware of cyber-crime operates from Russian territory, it’s not authorized by the Kremlin. Biden accused Russia of backing cyber-crime or ransomware activities on Russian soil, something Putin emphatically denies. U.S. and EU have accused Russia of targeted assassinations using banned biologic agents, suppressing free speech in the case of Russian dissident Alexi Navalny and illegal missile defense systems.
Western officials accuse Putin of undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, backing pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region along the Ukraine-Russian border. “It must be taken into consideration that the Western partners are aggravating the situation [in the Donbass] by supplying Kiev with modern lethal weapons and holding provocative military maneuvers in the Black Sea and other regions close to our borders,” Putin said. Whether admitted to or not by Washington, Brussels or Kiev, pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk areas want no part of the Kiev government. When it comes to Crimea, polls shows that the vast majority of Russian speakers want no part of Kiev. Putin warned the U.S., EU and NATO that any attempt to extend NATO membership to Ukraine would be taken as a provocative active prompting reprisals.
When you consider that the U.S., EU and NATO have not intent of confronting Russian forces to defend Ukraine, it makes you wonder why all the saber-rattling in the Black Sea region. Sending in U.S. or NATO warships or staging war games in the Black Sea or Sea of Asov makes no sense if the U.S. doesn’t intend to challenge Russian assets in the region. “We’re constantly voicing our concerns about this, talking about red lines, be we understand our partners—how shall I put it mildly—have a very superficial attitude to all our warnings and talk of red lines,” Putin said. Biden has shown no interest in compromising with Putin, leaving U.S. national security in a more vulnerable place. If hostilities break out in the Balkans, the U.S. would welcome any influence Putin has to end the conflict. Biden and his 58-year-old Secretary of State Tony Blinken continue to antagonize the Kremlin.
When you consider all the hot spots around the globe, including this week’s Bosnia conflict, you’d think that Biden would do everything possible to find common ground with Putin on a host of issues. Putin could easily defuse the Bosnia crisis now threatening the 1995 Dayton Accords that brought “peace” to the Balkans. When it comes to China, Biden has the same problems, often accusing China of human rights abuses, especially against Muslim Uyghurs in Western China, pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and separatists in Taiwan. Biden’s decision to diplomatically boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics would throw gasoline on an already volatile situation. Like Russia, China’s capable of helping or hurting U.S. national security, something that should compel Biden to improve U.S.-China relations. Biden’s abysmal approval ratings show he’s not doing a good job with domestic or foreign policy.
