Voice of America: Russia loses Cyprus?
Russia suffered a major defeat last week.
And no one noticed.
But the setback was so striking that President Vladimir Putin picked up
the phone at 4 am on Thursday and ordered a surprise drill of 30 Russian
Navy ships in the Black Sea.
The political goal was to flood Russian TV news with images of pretend
naval heroics in the Black Sea. Ideally, this would distract attention
from Russia’s real defeat in the neighboring Mediterranean Sea.
China has Hong Kong, an offshore island where British-style law guarantees property rights.
Similarly, Russia has Cyprus – British-style law, low taxes, and
membership in the European Union. The formula was so successful that
tiny Cyprus became the largest foreign investor in Russia.