Putin and Trump, together, are teetering at the abyss of incalculable global consequences

There are very few, if any, 'coincidences' in politics.

As president-elect Trump continues to consolidate his cabinet, with most of his critical appointees having attitudes that are 'highly' favourable towards Putin, 

UT reports that Putin's 'dyed-in-the-wool' Soviet foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov,

" ... says it is ‘unreal' to make the guns in the conflict zone go completely silent for a month, as demanded by Ukraine." (UT : Dec. 9, 2016) (my emphasis)

Following Putin's current 'on the hoof ' Ukrainian political and military script, and confirming Lavrov's recent pronouncement about the 'unreality' of silencing the rebel guns in the Donbas,

"The Russian-backed separatist forces attacked the positions of Ukrainian soldiers 31 times in the past 24 hours, Kyiv reported on December 10.

Using high-caliber artillery and assault weapons, the militants shelled numerous areas both in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

They continued their attacks on the government-controlled Avdiivka, neighboring Donetsk, firing with grenade launchers and machine guns." (UT : Dec. 10, 2016) (my emphasis)

And now, 'hot off the press', so to speak, what but a few days ago was speculation has now come to pass.

David E. Sanger, Maggie Haberman and Clifford Krauss report that,

"Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, whose extensive deal-making for the energy giant has plunged him into global politics from Yemen to Russia, is expected to be offered the secretary of state post this weekend by President-elect Donald J. Trump, according to two people close to Mr. Trump’s transition team." (New York Times : Dec. 10, 2016) (my emphasis) (right: Sechin, Putin, and Tillerson)

Co-incidence?

The longstanding links between Rex Tillerson and Putin spells the end of US sanctions against Putin's Russia. Tillerson is already on record as saying that,

"... the [US] sanctions [against Putin's Russia because of his annexation of Ukrainian Crimea, and his war with Ukraine in the Donbas,] are harmful for business after they halted an Exxon joint venture with Rosneft to drill for oil in the Kara Sea, in Russia’s sector of the Arctic Ocean." ( Andrew E. Kramer : New York Times : Dec. 7, 2016) (my emphasis)

If the looming prospect of  Rex Tillerson as US Secretary of State has dropped a bombshell into the lap of Poroshenko (left), then adding to Ukraine's woes is the fact that,

"In a letter sent to Martin Schulz, the panicked head of the European Council [Donald Tusk (right)] urged the legislature to compromise with national governments to unblock visa liberalisation – currently stopping the former Soviet states from gaining easy access to Europe.
.... Mr Tusk wrote: "At stake here are the legitimate hopes and aspirations of the nations who are our neighbours, as well as the reputation of the European Union, which has categorically and repeatedly committed itself to the issue. (Express : Wed, Dec 7, 2016) (my emphasis)

No-one could have predicted that Donald Trump, described by his "ghostwriter" of the "Art of The Deal" ,Tony Schwartz, as,

"... pathologically impulsive and self-centered...." (Jane Mayer : The New Yorker : July 25, 2016 Issue)

would be the president-elect of the US, and who also threatened his "ghostwriter" when he deigned to make public that he would not be voting for his past employer, Donald Trump. (cf: Jane Mayer)

Neither could anyone also have predicted that the Ukrainian revolution in Maidan in 2014 would play such a central and critical role in the unfolding of the prospective Trump presidency, as well as becoming an 'acid test' for the reputation of the EU.

If, before, I wrote that Putin's annexation of Ukrainian Crimea, and his current war with Ukraine in the Donbass, has led him to teetering on the abyss of setting off  incalculable global consequences,

"... it now seems that Putin and Trump, together holding hands, are now readying themselves to jump into the abyss of untold, and possibly cataclysmic, global consequences."

(to be continued)