Crimea is thousands of miles away, but it feels like I’m right there, thanks to the extensive television coverage. Two things hit me about this crisis. The naivety of Crimeans who think that Vladmir Putin is acting in their best interest, just like Egyptians thought the army was on their side when they ousted Mohammed Morsi. Soon, they’ll be queuing to vote Gen Fattah el-Sisi, after all, he’s only answering the people’s call to run for president! Putin is taking the mighty America and allies to school. Love or hate him, Putin is calling the shots and while they don’t like the new pecking order, there’s not much they can do about it. I’m not a Putin fan, but I have to say I admire his resolve. He’s in charge and while he doesn’t say much, he acts. I think Barack Obama should borrow a leaf. With all due respect, the President of the ‘Free World’ needs to get a spine as should David Cameron, Angela Merkel etc. They’re letting people down and not just in Ukraine but Syria and all the other places where they have failed to take any meaningful action. I know I sound like every other armchair analyst and some of you probably think I should stick to my simple life and leave these very complicated foreign policy issues to diplomats. You’re probably right, except that I can’t just sit back and watch. Let me at least write about it. I was thinking about the cost of transporting, feeding, accommodating and providing security for all the foreign secretaries and dignitaries who’ve been trying to resolve this crisis for weeks. Is it worth? I don’t think so. They should have just teleconferenced, saving time and reducing the carbon imprint on our planet. I was waiting for the cost Russia was going to pay for annexing Crimea and I have to say, I was disappointed. These are oligarchs with plenty to fall back on in Russia itself and whoever believes they’re hurting them with those sanctions deserves all the ridicule they’re getting. But perhaps we should be asking why the West is a safe haven for ill-gotten wealth in the first place. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that these multi-million dollar accounts in American and Swiss banks belong to corrupt officials siphoning mineral and oil money from their countries. So Russia is right in accusing the West of hypocrisy. Anything goes as long as you’re playing by their rules. Stand up to them and suddenly, your assets are frozen and you’re slapped with travel bans. Russia will survive, which is why the international community needs to think of more stinging ways to ‘punish’ Putin. Sometimes you need to fight fire with fire. Condemning an aggressor is not enough. Neither is folding your arms and hoping the attacker will come to their senses. In letting Putin get away with this, which is essentially what they have done, they’re giving him the green light to do whatever he wants. Who knows which territory he’s going to annex next?
