Paul
Goble
Staunton, December 8 – Vladimir Putin’s
declaration to visiting French President Francois Hollande that he supports the territorial
integrity of Ukraine is just as hypocritical and fraudulent as his past remarks
about the country he has subverted and invaded. In fact, he supports this idea
in exactly the same way that a rope “supports” a hanging man.
Moscow commentator Igor Eidman
points out that some see Putin’s latest words as “a certain step” toward an
agreement and “a sign of the softening” of the Kremlin’s position, but in fact,
those who are drawing such conclusions do not understand Putin’s policies in
the Donbas or in Ukraine as a whole (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=5484448731F9E).
Putin, the commentator argues, has
never been interested in the Donbas in and of itself but rather as “a bomb
inserted under Ukraine.” He wants to
control that region even while he is prepared to “formally” consider it part of
Ukrainian territory. Such a tactic is useful to Putin for three reasons.
First, Eidman says, it forces Kyiv
to bear the social welfare costs of this region and gives Moscow a propaganda
theme if the central Ukrainian government doesn’t do so. That means Putin gets control without having
to pay for it.
Second, by making this declaration,
Putin “deprives Ukraine of the formal basis to tightly control the border with
these [breakaway] territories” and limits I”shift people and goods from
there. That opens the way for Moscow to
send even more forces into the Donbas and thus continue with his plans to
destabilize Ukraine as a whole.
And third – and some in the West are
more than ready to fall for this – Putin’s declaration allows him to adopt the
pose of “a peacemaker” and “a civilized politician” and thus put additional
pressure on Western governments to reduce or even eliminate sanctions.
Ukraine cannot possibly take this declaration
seriously except as a the latest example of Putin’s lies, and neither should
anyone else.
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