A summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French and German counterparts has been dubbed a failure by some officials here, who warned the troika's "peace camp" alliance would crumble with the end of the war in Iraq. "Senior government officials, speaking in the corridors of power in Moscow, have no illusions about any long-term perspectives for the axis," the well-connected Izvestia daily reported in its weekend issue. "Sooner or later Iraq will fall and Russia and the United Sates will resume normal relations. The situation in Iraq does not mean that we intend to get into an argument with the United States," said the source before adding that Moscow never expected "any long-term principled" position concerning Iraq from either Paris or Berlin.
It's not a good idea to expect anything "long-term principled" out of Chiraq...
The comments indicate that Russia's nuanced position over the war in Iraq is becoming even more difficult to decipher. Putin is still pushing to protect a nascent friendship with US President George W. Bush in the face of strident opposition from the Russian media and top government officials. Analysts have long argued that Putin is far keener to preserve friendly ties with the United States than with the pro-European, anti-war camps embedded in much of the Russian media and the foreign and defense ministries.
Putin is the most intelligent of the three members of the "troika." One has his ideology, one has his pride, and Putin has his worries. |