In 2014, in a telephone conversation with the then US President, Barack Obama, Tony Paterson reported that,"Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is reported to have become “really annoyed” about Russian President Vladimir Putin and has questioned whether he “was still in touch with reality.”
The German mass circulation Bild newspaper wrote on Monday that during a telephone conversation she held with US President Barack Obama to discuss the growing crisis in Ukraine she complained that Mr Putin was “living in another world.” (The Telegraph : 3 March, 2014) (my emphasis)
Fast forward to November 1, 2018 and we have Angela Merkel visiting Ukraine for the first time since 2014.
As reported by UNIAN,
"The chancellor will be met by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko with military honors, according to the Federal Government's official website. The joint meeting will focus on bilateral relations between Germany and Ukraine, it said. Other important topics will include hostilities in the east of Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
Merkel will also meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman. They will discuss bilateral, economic, and international issues." (UNIAN : 26 Oct., 2018) (my emphasis)
It is significant to note that this impending meeting between Merkel and Poroshenko follows closely on the heels of
- the U.S. not intending to impose sanctions on the Western companies which are involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2.." (UA112 : 19 September, 2018), and,
- all works on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in German territorial waters are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. (UNIAN: 7 Oct., 2018) (my emphasis)
And whilst Merkel is trying to "buy off" Poroshenko over Nord Stream2, RFERL reports that,
"Russia has clashed with the United States and European powers at the United Nations over the legality of elections in areas of eastern Ukraine held by Moscow-backed separatists.
Before the meeting began, a joint statement from France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, and Germany was read outside the council chamber condemning what they called "the illegitimate 'elections' planned for November 11.
The U.S. deputy ambassador to the UN, Jonathan Cohen (left), later also claimed the "sham elections staged by Russia" violated the Minsk agreement, which states that elections must be held in accordance with Ukrainian law and be supervised by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe." (RFERL : October 31, 2018) (my emphasis)This 'election ploy' of Putin cannot be divorced from the fact that,
"Moscow wants to have normal, business and mutually respecting relations with the United States and has offered its proposals on building dialogue many times, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" on Rossiya 1 TV channel.", so said that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. (TASS : October 28, 2018) (my emphasis)Like Trump, Putin is becoming very jittery about the possible outcome of the November 6 mid-term elections in the US.
Trump is now flailing in his attempt to prevent the Democratic Party from gaining control of the US House of Congress.
And well might he be because, if the Democratic Party gains control of the House of Congress, Trump's impeachment becomes imminent.
And with a Democrat Party controlled House of Congress, the desire of Putin and his Kremlin 'siloviki' "to have normal, business and mutually respecting relations with the United States" will evaporate into thin air.
The outcome of the 2018 US mid-term elections will prove to be a decisive day for both Trump and Putin.
(to be continued)
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