(FP) There are no winners in the geopolitical tug of war between Russia and the West. The recent headlines about the alleged leaked recording of U.S. officials discussing the crisis in Ukraine are all focused on an expletive spoken in a moment of pique about the European Union. The press seems to have faithfully done the bidding of the most likely suspects behind the leak — one assumes either the Russians themselves or pro-Russian elements in the Ukrainian government — and focused on the alleged U.S. dissatisfaction with a supposedly weak-kneed E.U.
That such tensions exist even between the closest allies during a difficult crisis is hardly shocking. What is surprising about the conversation, if it did in fact occur, is that the United States still believes it can unilaterally create sustainable political outcomes in Ukraine while keeping Moscow in the dark. Lost in the reporting is that most of the alleged conversation is about cobbling together a political compromise and sealing the deal — before Russia has time to react. […]
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