German "tank" stops Russian armored vehicle!

(Baonghean) - When the West successfully supported the overthrow of President Yanukovich in Ukraine and the establishment of a new pro-Western government, public opinion could not help but eagerly wait to see how the "duo" President Putin and Prime Minister Medvedev, after "taking care" of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, would "behave" to ensure Russia's interests in Ukraine.

Not disappointing those who believe in Russia's power, the powerful "empire" Putin-Mevedev immediately expressed their attitude of not abandoning Ukraine by declaring their responsibility to intervene based on legal grounds. True to their word, the Russian army was present and controlled almost the entire Crimean peninsula without having to use guns or bullets. However, when world public opinion was worried about the possibility of a "second Cold War" or "third world war", German Chancellor Angela Merkel promptly defused the fuse to avoid clashes that, if they happened, would have had unpredictable consequences.

It was not China – a new “rising” power that has a close relationship of interests with Russia, nor France – a country that was recently elevated by the US as a leading ally, but Germany that appeared at the right time and took on the mission of “intervening” the clash that could completely happen between Russia and Ukraine, which in fact would be between the two giants Russia and the US. When armored vehicles along with full Russian naval, land, and air forces bravely advanced towards Ukraine and easily controlled the “outpost” Crimea, people thought that Russia would take the initiative to open fire because Ukraine at this time “distant water cannot put out a nearby fire”, along with the current situation of a Ukraine that is not much different from an empty garden with an exhausted economy and a newly established political apparatus that is still very weak.

Although the West strongly opposes and the majority of G8 countries are threatening to refuse the meeting in Russia, Russia cannot "back down" because of the three legal bases agreed by the National Assembly: To protect the Russian naval base in Crimea, which the Ukrainian Government signed to allow Russia to use until 2042; To protect Russian citizens and property on the territory of another country according to the Resolution on the responsibility to protect of the United Nations passed in 2005; To respond to the call for help from the Prime Minister of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea about requesting Russia to be present to help this Autonomous Republic protect its sovereignty, territory and security. However, after only a phone call from Chancellor Merkel, President Putin agreed to "political dialogue" to resolve the Ukraine issue. According to the German Government's press release, the core content of the phone call was that President Putin accepted the German Chancellor's proposal to immediately establish an investigation team as well as a contact group under the leadership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which includes 57 countries, including the European Union, Russia, Ukraine and the United States, to open a political dialogue.

It is worth mentioning that in the face of Russia's stubbornness, the German Chancellor still did not hesitate to "accuse the Russian leader of violating international law by his unacceptable intervention in Crimea", an autonomous region in southern Ukraine. The basis that this experienced female politician relied on was that Russia had violated the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on security guarantees in which Russia pledged to respect Ukraine's independence and sovereignty as well as the 1997 treaty on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which is stationed in Crimea. The Budapest Memorandum was signed by the UK, Ukraine, Russia and the US. Therefore, Ms. Merkel asked Mr. Putin to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity.

However, the Kremlin statement said that although President Putin agreed to move towards political dialogue, he still firmly defended Russia's actions in fighting "radical nationalist forces" in Ukraine and affirmed that the measures implemented so far are "fully appropriate" with a solid legal basis (as mentioned above). The Kremlin also affirmed the need to continue "consultations in both bilateral and multilateral forms with a view to cooperating to normalize the socio-political situation in Ukraine".

If at the end of 2013 Russia successfully took on the task of defusing the bomb to avoid a limited US military attack on Syria, now it is Germany’s turn to mediate a “limitless” clash between Russia and the newly established pro-Western forces in Ukraine. However, the Syrian issue has not yet been settled, and the conflict of interests between Russia and Ukraine has not yet been resolved. World public opinion is now focused on Germany to see if the German “tank” can really stop the Russian armored wheels!

Chi Linh Mountain