Putin Tries To Woo Ukraine, Says it Should Join Customs Union
Wants to pursue Eurasian integration
Dec 12 (Reuters)—Russian President Vladimir Putin made a new attempt to woo Ukraine on Thursday after the European Union and United States stepped up efforts to pull Kiev out of its former Soviet master's orbit.
A day after European and U.S. officials held talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in Kiev, Putin used a state of the nation address to tout the economic benefits of joining a customs union that he wants Ukraine to be part of.
Yanukovich—who is seeking the best possible deal for his country of 46 million as it tries to stave off bankruptcy – provoked street protests in Kiev by spurning the chance to sign a free-trade pact with the EU last month and saying he wanted to revive ties with Russia instead.
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‘The fox sees many tracks leading into the cave of the bear but none coming out.’
Pretty sure that was Heisenberg’s comment when the Soviets tried to recruit him post WWII.
Except now it’s the Union of Socialist States of America (USSA) versus a capitalist, albeit paternalistic, Russia.
History is basically flipping around. America is now the country touting egalitarianism, that everyone should be “equal” (even though NOBODY is equal in reality). And now it’s Putin who lectured America against bailing out the banks.
Putin warned America against “excessive intervention in economic activity” and made dire comparisons of America with the former Soviet Union saying this right after the US bailouts:
“In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.”
If you want to criticize Putin for his paternalism I would just say that when America was on it’s way UP as a country, it was always paternalistic.
Washington himself promoted paternalism to his slaves as a reason not to cross over into the British lines who promised them freedom. America was, for better or worse, built on paternalism.
And it’s being destroyed by egalitarianism.
Although ideally one would hope for liberty, there have only been a few glimmers of it in history.