All amateurs of Chess know exactly what a "stale mate" situation represents. It can be compared with a bottleneck of traffic on a Motorway ! No one can really move !
In the political world of Russia's President Putin, there is a stale mate situation !
In the immediate future Putin is fettered by the Winter Olympics in Sochi from February 7 until February 23, 2014. He cannot risk another rebuff like in 1980 when the "Summer Olympics in Moscow" were ruined by the withdrawal of the USA (followed by several other countries including China) after Russian troops invaded Afghanistan.
This time the problems are the Ukraine and Syria !
Putin wants to keep the Ukraine out of the EU ! It became independent again when the Russian Federation was dissolved in 1991. At that time other satellite countries joined the EU. The Ukraine then became a useful "Buffer State" between Russia and the EU !
Ukrainians really also wanted to apply for EU membership; preliminary contacts started as early as 1994 and finally a preliminary agreement was to be signed in November 2013. At the last moment President Viktor Yanukovych yielded to the threats by Putin concerning winter Gas Supplies to heat Ukraine ! Yanukovych ended the discussions with the EU, but this at once provoked the current serious riots all over the country which could even lead to a civil war.
Putin also has an on-going international problem concerning Syria. He used the Russian Veto in the UNO Security Council to keep a UNO peacekeeping force out of Syria.
This also protects Bachir al Assad who is wanted for "War Crimes" but it also slows down the destruction of Syrian Chemical Weapons which UNO inspectors have identified. Finally, the Russian Navy is happy as it can keep its ships strategically anchored in Syrian Ports !
Diplomats everywhere do a lot of talking but nothing changes ! UNO must revise the Security Council voting rules ! Ban Ki-moon the General Secretary must act otherwise Russia will forever decide everything ! Putin will rule !
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