Bull of Europe

In four -sided negotiations between Ukraine, France and Germany in Milan, Putin played the owner of the situation, and even a kind of peacekeeper - not so much in a tactical military sense as strategically, as a large father of all negligent children, Ukrainians and Europeans. This is evidenced by his statements and photographs taken at a meeting in the Norman format, in which the Russian president persistently proves Poroshenko, leaning in his direction with the corps, hanging over the table.

Speaking of Ukraine’s debts for gas, Putin repeated his favorite vulgar joke about "a grandparents." For Europe, such antics are now regarded as Bullying (“Bypass”) against transgender people, but Putin will be forgiven.

However, we seem to be engaged in Bullying for a long time and for any reason. What else to please us?

Putin Messide was that the military phase of confrontation in Ukraine should end while maintaining Status quo for an indefinite time. The question of the Crimea was not raised, the Minsk agreements must be observed, and the Donetsk-Lugan enclave will continue to cook in his own juice, but Putin’s assurances were made that he would like to see these territories exclusively in Ukraine. The pragmatist of this position is understandable: legally, Ukraine has retained its integrity, in practice it does not control a significant part of its territory, which can prevent it from taking the question of further integration into European institutions.

This is a turning point. Military operations should be replaced by a more traditional impact on Ukraine using a gas contract. Russia, according to Putin, did not receive 5.5 billion dollars from Ukraine. He openly reproaches European partners, inviting them to come to the aid of Kyiv and cover the “cash gap”. Russia itself, according to Putin, has already helped Ukraine very much, without requiring an advance payment for gas delivered in the previous months.

However, pipes and ingenuity also invade this diplomacy and notes of weakness. Putin offers to use camcorders to objective control of who exactly violates the truce.

This is an old story: so Putin, not having the opportunity to trust anyone, and especially his own subordinates, demanded to install video cameras in the construction of housing after forest fires. It seems that Putin is not ready to take the word for the legendary militia Motorole.

An even greater awkwardness of Russia's foreign policy is demonstrated by the fact that direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev today are possible only with guarantees of the leaders of European countries and in neutral territory. This is the main achievement of the Kremlin course in relation to Ukraine. A year ago, such a scenario could not imagine. The neighbors, the closest peoples for each other in language and culture, we could always agree directly, although these negotiations were difficult in previous years. Now on our land, neither in the capitals, nor in the border cities, there is a place where Ukrainians and Russians can calmly talk about the future. The authorities are forced to go to Europe to find there Ukraine, lost in the tragic for Russian history in 2014.