Two extremely sad events, the Russian aircraft crash and the
terror attack on Paris, have helped to bring together Western powers and
Russia, uniting them in a resolve to deal with the terrorist threat posed by
the ISIL.
President Putin this morning announced that Russian
investigations into the aircraft crash had revealed the cause to be a terrorist
bomb. This finally brought him into line
with the conclusion already reached by the U.S. and U.K. based on intelligence
chatter.
As a consequence, Russia is now appealing for united action against the Islamic State, which opens the door to more coordinated actions between the U.S., France and Russia.
As a consequence, Russia is now appealing for united action against the Islamic State, which opens the door to more coordinated actions between the U.S., France and Russia.
In the meantime, Russia would appear to be continuing to
de-escalate the Ukraine situation.
Yesterday, Russia proposed a restructuring of $3bn owed to it by the Ukraine. Whilst there are various terms
attached,
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c4a2eaa6-8c7f-11e5-8be4-3506bf20cc2b.html#axzz3rkMFBk7P
this is clearly a softening in stance. Images from the G20 meeting at Antalya last weekend showed Putin engaged in private discussions with world leaders including Obama and Cameron.
this is clearly a softening in stance. Images from the G20 meeting at Antalya last weekend showed Putin engaged in private discussions with world leaders including Obama and Cameron.
Tough sanctions and a falling oil price
are hitting the Russian economy hard, and there has been a notable change of
stance from the Russians, which is starting to be embraced by the West.
In the meantime, France is going hard-line
in its response to the terrorist attack, and Telegraph reports suggest it will
call for an effective suspension of open borders at a summit on Friday.
Whilst Schengen is a core pillar of the
European construct, it is a very flexible concept in practice. The Schengen
area guarantees unrestricted travel within a territory of 26 countries, home to
more than 400 million citizens. However,
EU citizens are required to carry a valid passport or identity card in order to be able to
prove his identity, if asked.
The ability to deal with the migrant crisis until now has been fractured
and challenged. The terrorist threat has
united public opinion that more radical intervention is required to control the
movement of people in the short term whilst efforts to bolster and enforce
external borders are improved.
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