REUTERS

Ukrainian interest. Turkish uppercut, Crimean tension and millions from overseas

13:20, 28.11.2015
2 min.

Turkish fighter jets shot down Vladimir Putin’s vanity, and Ukraine tried to take advantage from this fact. The annexed Crimean peninsula was deprived of electricity supplies from mainland Ukraine. The U.S. allocated $300 million for Ukraine in the world's largest defense budget.

The scenarios of developments around the formation of an anti-ISIL coalition do not suit Russia. Turkish fighter jets shot down the Russian Su-24 bomber without any sentimentality, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to Russian condemnation with the Sultan’s serenity. His stance seems to emphasize that the hysterical tone of verbal escapades of Russia’s top officials does not correlate well with the image of a powerful empire. Claiming to be “backstabbed” by the "associates of terrorists" and demanding an apology as well as compensation from Turkey, Putin looks unconvincing after his actions in Crimea and Donbas. Meanwhile, Erdogan does not intend to apologize.

Erdogan’s stance seems to emphasize that the hysterical tone of verbal escapades of Russia’s top officials does not correlate well with the image of a powerful empire.

Not only has Russia accelerated breaking ties with Turkey and strengthening its military presence in Syria, but it has almost lost the chance to participate in the anti-ISIL coalition. Against the backdrop of the latest developments, the Moscow visit of Francois Hollande, following his stops as several other capitals, looked more like a courtesy call, clearly with a negative result. While in the Netherlands, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko took the opportunity and called for strengthening sanctions against Russia, which can’t be restrained with soft steps.

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At the same time Ukraine has tried to take advantage from the Russia-Turkey escalation. For almost a week, the occupied peninsula has been cut off from power supplies from mainland Ukraine after the unknown perpetrators had blown up the pylons of the power transmission lines leading to the peninsula.

Dzhemilev’s contacts in Ankara make him an almost indispensable negotiator for Ukraine, which needs to take advantage of escalation between Turkey and Russia.

The leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev made it clear that repair works are possible only if Russia agrees to political concessions. However, it is hardly capable to resort to any concessions in the context of recent developments. But Dzhemilev’s contacts in Ankara make him an almost indispensable negotiator for Ukraine, which needs to take advantage of escalation between Turkey and Russia. Besides, the Crimean Tatars’ rally will push the official Kyiv to exert concrete pressure on the occupied territory of Crimea.

There is a growing non-perception in the central part of the continent of any intentions to solve someone’s problems at the expense of others, and of continuing to flirt with the aggressor.

The Cabinet of Ministers closed the Ukrainian airspace to the Russian airlines (to prevent provocations) and instructed Naftogaz to halt purchases of Russian gas a few hours after Gazprom’s announcement on the termination of gas supplies to Ukraine. Kyiv radiates confidence that the country will pass through the heating season successfully, without the Russian natural gas. Meanwhile, the EU is getting more skeptical about the Nord Stream-2 pipeline, which some representatives of the Old Europe intended to finance. There is a growing non-perception in the central part of the continent of any intentions to solve someone’s problems at the expense of others, and of continuing to flirt with the aggressor.

REUTERS

Barack Obama has kept his word, signing the U.S. military budget for 2016, reserving $300 million for assistance to Ukraine. The sum impressive, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces can make use of a much more substantial amount. It is equally important that the White House stressed that there will be no changes to the sanctions against Russia due to its activities in Syria.

Yevgeny Magda

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