The Kerry-Lavrov deals over Syria and Iran are on the surface deals about chemical weapons and nuclear weapons, but in practice are merely means to buy Assad time to defeat rebels and allow Iran time to go nuclear. I am as envious of Russia's diplomatic skills as I am angry at their actions as our greatest geo-political adversary.
So the lamentations of our
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on April 29 accused Moscow of accelerating the crisis in Ukraine instead of sticking to an agreement to ratchet back tensions.
God bless him, I think he's actually shocked.
But the Russians only wanted to buy time to destabilize eastern Ukraine while gaining a club to use against Ukraine if Kiev manages to move forces to stabilize the situation.
UPDATE: Related:
[Does] Obama really believe that Putin’s thinking would be altered less by antitank and antiaircraft weapons in Ukrainian hands than by the State Department’s comical #UnitedforUkraine Twitter campaign?
Obama appears to think so. Which is the source of so much allied anxiety: Obama really seems to believe that his foreign policy is succeeding.
That's what we get for having a president receive a Nobel Peace Prize based on the simple belief that his future foreign policy would succeed.
