by Demetrios Rhompotis*
Those in the West that shed their tears galore about Russia’s invasion in the Crimea, must cut the bullshit because they are as bad hypocrites as Ronald Reagan was an actor! What did they do, besides toothless condemnations, after Russia all but annexed Ossetia and Abkhazia just a few years ago? It is chronicled that as Hitler was designing the Holocaust and one of his subalterns voiced concerns about international public opinion, he famously remarked: “Who remembers the Armenians” (referring to the Armenian, Pontic Greek and Assyrian Genocides by the Young Turks)? Talk is cheap and another divided country, Cyprus, knows it very well after 40 years of an illegal invasion and continuing occupation of half her territory. When you are contortionist-flexible in your own standards and ethics don’t pretend you are appalled when others do the same over those you happen to like!
Most likely Putin, who knows to expect nothing serious in the form of sanctions from the EU and the US, won’t keep Crimea, Russia isn’t in need for more territory anyway. But he will bargain hard “to give it back”, taking in return the whole of the Ukraine, meaning the country’s complete submission to Russia’s interests. Same way, more or less, the Turks are planning “to concede” a “solution” in Cyprus by making sure their de facto control over the entire island will be guaranteed.
In the meantime, it is in the interest of many, including the real American oligarchs, – the defense industry – that the situarion remains uncertain and it wouldn’t hurt (them) if it escalates a bit. In Putin they see the perfect aggressive adversary they need in order to start the kind of new cold war that will channel huge taxpayers’ sums to their coffers for new weapons that will never be used. Putin too understands the rules of the game and he sees in such a development the opportunity to further consolidate his own power. In this case, like in many others, one dirty hand washes another …
Besides foreign interventions and machinations, countries, like people, often times fall victims of their own stupidity and naivete. Especially as they fail to learn from the mistakes and tragedies of others. The Ukraine is such a case and the price she is paying for daring to openly flirt with fickle suitors from the West, while she is completely dependent on her Russian loutish neighbor and relative for survival, is just the beginning…
Demetrios Rhompotis, a journalist and publisher of NEO magazine (neomagazine.com), lives in New York.
P.S. WHAT’S IN A NAME:
“Vladimir” in Old Slavonic means “to rule with greatness” but it could also be interpreted as “ruler of the world”. It seems Putin has taken the second meaning far too seriously while disregarding the first one …
Good points, but I believe the “deal” was outlined long ago (although I support the imperfect but often practical principle of national self determination. If the people of Ukraine want a divorce – why is it different from Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia – or a deal with Putin, let them have it). The deal, which a new Ukrainian friend of mine told me is a good deal, is – I believe – that Russia keeps (ie gets back what belonged to it before 1954) Crimea, and Ukraine joins the EU (not NATO). I think that is a very good deal and I regret the US is playing this self-righteous B.S. game, pretending they never invaded and occupied Iraq and that Kissinger never gave Turkey the green light to invade Cyprus, a sovereign state.
Your article is confusing and conflicting. The use of the crocodile tear metaphor infers either a bias towards the the pro-westerners or your intention was to mock the desperate charade of sympathy by the west?
In any case it would be interesting for you to expand on the geopolitics of the black see to the eastern Mediterranean since you mentioned Cyprus.
It would be REALLY insightful if you could marry the conflict within Turkey, the control of the Bosporus (the Lausanne treaty) Crimea, Syria, the treachary of the Cypriots and mainland Greeks so they can still have frappedes.
it would be interesting if you held back no punches.