I don't think it is difficult to read Putin if you do the research and assume that he is not creative. Just as a lumberjack might see every problem as a tree to be cut down, Putin is stuck in the cage of his early KGB experience and power play for survival.
Germany is the key player and it was right and shrewd PM Lee had serious discussion with Merkel on this.
It is also a good thing that there are many small states in this world. If you are an endangered specie, you are waiting to be finished. Recall how Raja led the UN General Assembly to condemn Vietnam annexation of Cambodia. The General Assembly is not useless as some analysts think because they cannot see beyond the first two steps.
The west will use economic weapons and the Russian will use their military, poker and blackmail. Each will leverage their strengths. What we want to know is the will of the Europeans. America is not going to try harder than them.
Update: March 29 7:50 am
I am optimistic of a good outcome. It takes a long time for the Russian elites to learn that Czarist or Soviet values and entitlement will not work in the 21st century. Like alcoholics their minds always gravitate to the bottle. Very hard to unlearn. The Chinese ought to watch and learn too. Their behavior over their claims in the South China sea is unbecoming of a rising power that possess strategic wisdom.
The lesson for Singapore is to not have too many foreigners in the country. When they become embolden they will run all over you and treat this land as their own.
ReplyDeleteVery true.
DeleteFully agreed. And there are many who hold dual citizenship - will they stand by Singapore when the time comes?
ReplyDelete