So, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan picks up the phone and calls his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin: let’s talk about the “grain deal.� Putin, cool, calm and collected, explains the facts to the Sultan: First, the reason why Russia withdrew from the export grain deal. Second, how Moscow seeks a serious investigation into the –... Read More

I have to admit that before I sat down to write this column I had some misgivings: I thought “not another article warning about a potential explosion in the Ukraine! Not again!�. And yet, events on the ground are what they are and ignoring them under the pretext that I am fed up “crying wolf�... Read More

When the Ukrainian navy sent a tugboat and two small gunboats on Sunday to force their way through the Kerch Strait into the Sea of Azov, it knew in advance the Russian response would be swift and merciless. After all, Kiev was entering waters claimed by Russia with military vessels without clarifying their intent. The... Read More

The threat to Russia’s Crimean naval base looks plausible enough to provoke Putin’s intervention. 2008 Kiev Post: 2010 Guardian: Ukraine's parliament erupted when parliamentarians were asked to vote on a controversial law allowing Russia to continue to use a naval base in Crimea. Opposition MPs oppose the move by Ukraine's new pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych,... Read More