On November 23rd, Putin went to Ukraine's Crimea. As reported by UNIAN,
"On Friday, the president will be working at the Yalta-based Mriya hotel. There, he will hold an expanded meeting of the State Council Presidium on the tasks specified in the May decree," Peskov said in a statement." (UNIAN : 22 November, 2018) (my emphasis)
It is not know what these "tasks specified in the May decree" are, but it should be borne in mind that, as Henry Foy reports,
"Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will hold a full meeting at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires that begins at the end of this month, the Kremlin has said, after a planned meeting in Paris this weekend was downgraded to a brief “stand up conversation.” (Financial Times : November 7, 2018) (my emphasis).
Notwithstanding the fact that just recently, Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State, stated that,
“The United States will never accept Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea,” he said. “We will continue to impose consequences against Russia until Moscow fully implements the Minsk agreements and returns control of Crimea to Ukraine.” (Kyiv Post : November 17, 2018) ( my emphasis),
Trump's increasing precarious position as the President of the United States, especially in light of the US Congress soon to be (January 2019) under the control of the Democratic Party, may lead him to give concessions to Putin at their impending meeting in Buenos Aires that will further tighten Putin's grip on Ukraine's Crimea. ( Full analysis: MSNBC 1, MSNBC 2)
That Putin will demand concessions from Trump in Buenos Aires will come on the heels of slumping oil prices. As reported by Jessica Resnick-Ault (left),
"Oil prices slumped up to nearly 8 percent to the lowest in more than a year on Friday, posting the seventh consecutive weekly loss, amid intensifying fears of a supply glut even as major producers consider cutting output.
...
International benchmark Brent crude oil futures hit their lowest since December 2017 at $61.52 per barrel, before recovering to $61.88 by 0622 GMT. That was still 72 cents, or 1.2 percent below their last close." (Reuters : November 23, 2018) (my emphasis)
The volatility of oil prices is not the only thing that Putin has on his mind.
As reported by
This response of Britain is in the face of Putin continuing to escalate his war with Ukraine in the Sea of Asov.
As reported by UNIAN,
"Former Ukrainian lieutenant-general Igor Romanenko (right) said the blocking of ships [at the Kerch Strait by Putin's forces] could prompt the West to impose further sanctions on Russia, which could have devastating consequences.
...
He said a "large-scale war" is possible if Russia continues to "aggravate the situation" in the Sea of Azov by conducting invasive inspections and seizing fishing ships. (UNIAN : 23 November, 2018) (my emphasis)
We therefore have to ask ourselves,
"Will the upcoming talks in Berlin to-morrow about the deployment of UN peace-keepers in the Donbas really reach a positive agreement between Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia?" (cf. UNIAN-22 November)
More importantly,
"What will Trump offer Putin at the upcoming G20 summit?"
(to be continued)
"On Friday, the president will be working at the Yalta-based Mriya hotel. There, he will hold an expanded meeting of the State Council Presidium on the tasks specified in the May decree," Peskov said in a statement." (UNIAN : 22 November, 2018) (my emphasis)
It is not know what these "tasks specified in the May decree" are, but it should be borne in mind that, as Henry Foy reports,
"Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will hold a full meeting at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires that begins at the end of this month, the Kremlin has said, after a planned meeting in Paris this weekend was downgraded to a brief “stand up conversation.” (Financial Times : November 7, 2018) (my emphasis).
Notwithstanding the fact that just recently, Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State, stated that,
“The United States will never accept Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea,” he said. “We will continue to impose consequences against Russia until Moscow fully implements the Minsk agreements and returns control of Crimea to Ukraine.” (Kyiv Post : November 17, 2018) ( my emphasis),
Trump's increasing precarious position as the President of the United States, especially in light of the US Congress soon to be (January 2019) under the control of the Democratic Party, may lead him to give concessions to Putin at their impending meeting in Buenos Aires that will further tighten Putin's grip on Ukraine's Crimea. ( Full analysis: MSNBC 1, MSNBC 2)
That Putin will demand concessions from Trump in Buenos Aires will come on the heels of slumping oil prices. As reported by Jessica Resnick-Ault (left),
"Oil prices slumped up to nearly 8 percent to the lowest in more than a year on Friday, posting the seventh consecutive weekly loss, amid intensifying fears of a supply glut even as major producers consider cutting output.
...
International benchmark Brent crude oil futures hit their lowest since December 2017 at $61.52 per barrel, before recovering to $61.88 by 0622 GMT. That was still 72 cents, or 1.2 percent below their last close." (Reuters : November 23, 2018) (my emphasis)
The volatility of oil prices is not the only thing that Putin has on his mind.
As reported by
This response of Britain is in the face of Putin continuing to escalate his war with Ukraine in the Sea of Asov.
As reported by UNIAN,
"Former Ukrainian lieutenant-general Igor Romanenko (right) said the blocking of ships [at the Kerch Strait by Putin's forces] could prompt the West to impose further sanctions on Russia, which could have devastating consequences.
...
He said a "large-scale war" is possible if Russia continues to "aggravate the situation" in the Sea of Azov by conducting invasive inspections and seizing fishing ships. (UNIAN : 23 November, 2018) (my emphasis)
Russian ships within 25 m of Nato fleet in Sea of Asov
We therefore have to ask ourselves,
"Will the upcoming talks in Berlin to-morrow about the deployment of UN peace-keepers in the Donbas really reach a positive agreement between Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia?" (cf. UNIAN-22 November)
More importantly,
"What will Trump offer Putin at the upcoming G20 summit?"
(to be continued)