I just watched Hillary Clinton in an interview with BBC Newsnight. In it, she insisted that Ukraine is not of "vital interest" to Russia.
Not of vital interest.
Conversationalists often refer, figuratively, to their jaws dropping. I have done so myself. Who hasn't? But I don't recall mine having ever literally dropped. Tonight it did. I was astounded, as, visibly, was the British interviewer, but in the American journalistic tradition of leaving no jaw-dropper ever fully examined, he quickly moved on.
I'm still a bit stunned.
Why? Why is the Ukraine vital to Russian interests? As a source of raw materials? Hardly? As a market? For what other than hydrocarbons the Ukranians can't afford. As a buffer state against invasion? By whom? To Russia the Ukraine is nothing more than inconvenient geography that pipelines must cross to get to vital European markets and a potential rival for some agricultural exports. It represents no military threat to Russia. So what Russian interests are so vital as to override the rights of Ukrainians? The only "vital" interest is Russian pride and their need to dominate their neighbors.
Posted by: Peter G | June 15, 2014 at 06:42 PM
Reminds me of Gerald Ford's "Poland is not under Soviet domination."
Posted by: RT | June 16, 2014 at 08:15 AM
Ask yourself why Poland was under Soviet domination? And why does the Ukraine need to be under Russian domination? Hillary was absolutely correct. The Russians have no vital interest in the Ukraine at all other than the right of commercial transit and that is something easily negotiated. If they are concerned about the treatment of ethnic Russians in the colonies they have planted throughout the old Soviet Union they probably should give some consideration to how they treat ethnic minorities within Russia. Which is terrible.
Posted by: Peter G | June 16, 2014 at 08:38 AM
It would be a shame is Clinton intended her statement the way you put it, and she gets flamed over a mere matter of semantics.
I'd phrase it this way: Ukraine *should not* be of vital interest to Russia, but Russia is vitally interested in Ukraine anyway.
Posted by: RT | June 16, 2014 at 08:54 AM
It would be odd indeed if a Secretary of State did not understand diplomatic language. I'm pretty sure she knows what the time honored phrase "vital interests" means. I agree that the Russians have a problem. They don't make shit besides weapons. Their only way to earn foreign exchange is to sell raw materials to Europe and Asia and the Ukraine is in the way. If you want to further ask why the Russian's "vital interest" has not prompted a full scale invasion that would be because the Russians could not secure those pipelines on which their economy depends and they know it. What is vital to Russian interests is a good relationship with the Ukraine and what pisses them off is that they can't get what they want by their time honored technique of bullying. It's very embarrassing for them.
Posted by: Peter G | June 16, 2014 at 09:32 AM
Heh, well put. It's like Ukraine is the Iran to Russia's Saudi Arabia, able to interdict the outlet for their exports.
Posted by: RT | June 16, 2014 at 10:24 AM