In September 2019, US diplomat John Evans wrote an eloquent article for National Interest that I found intriguing. Entitled “Understanding Vladimir Putin,” it argues that Putin is a normal Russian politician representing what long have been Russian interests. It considers that the expansion of NATO eastward after the collapse of the USSR was a disastrous policy and that the offer to Ukraine and Georgia to begin the process to join the alliance in 2008 was even worse.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
David Marples: The quest for hegemony
Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a live broadcast of the ceremony to load the liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker Coral Anthelia at the Cryogas LNG plant located in the port of Vysotsk, on April 24, 2019 in Saint Petersburg.
