Is it Russia threatening Ukraine, a former inseparable part of the Soviet Union, with yet another aggression after unilaterally annexing Crimea, an unalienable part of Ukraine, in 2014?

Or it is the US deliberately causing chaos on the doorstep of Russia by flagrantly brandishing modern armory in the name of a certain NATO or collective security?

Well, the rhetoric is different depending on which side you listen to but as deliberation rages on, the West are clutching at straws in their final bid to broker peace between Russia, a mighty nuclear country, and Ukraine, a comparatively inferior, non-nuclear  neighbor.

There have been numerous meetings between the US leaders and their Russian counterparts. I promise I won’t bore you with the past but let’s state some few. It’s worth looking at the attempts on each side to find a common ground.

Initial diplomatic efforts to stop the Putin invasion.

US secretary, Blinken has met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov – Foreign Minister, in Geneva. 

US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy R. Sherman also met with her Russian opposite, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, also in Geneva on January 9th. 

French President Emmanuel Macron flew to Moscow in a bid to secure commitments from Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease tensions but all fell on deaf ears. 

There has been countless telephone calls between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin with the latest on just this Saturday, 12th February. As you guessed right, there was no headway.

On the other aisle of the diplomatic drama, the UK and US have supplied lethal weapons to Ukraine to boost its defense should Putin go through with his threats. 

Well, Putin himself and Kremlin have intimated that they won’t invade Ukraine and the current pandemonium and hysteria are only deliberately drummed up by the United States and Allies.

The Kremlin is reiterating this as they move 100,000 soldiers and sophisticated weapons to the borders of Ukraine and stage the biggest war games since world war 2. Shouldn’t this give the Ukrainian government and people something to wary their head over?

We have to state that NATO is divided over arming Ukraine against Russia. Naturally, former Soviet states that have suffered at the hands of the Soviet Union’s bully are more radical towards Russia but most Western nations including Germany have taken a more relaxed and diplomatic approach. It may seem funny but what Germany got to offer was 5,000 helmets to Ukraine.

The message was clear. We cannot supply you with something you can fire back at the Russians. These guys supply us with gas. But we can give you helmets to brace yourself for what’s coming for you.

Germany and her Western friends have threatened unprecedented sanctions – the mother of all sanctions – for Putin’s Russia should he invade. But do sanctions work on Putin?

 Is there a solution in sight, you ask? Yes, there certainly is. But before I lay bare the solution that all these so-called political statesmen have been looking for, let me indulge you a bit on how we even got here

What does Putin want?

Russia has tabled a list of demands to the West. Let’s cut it to the chase and go through the wishlist in brief.

• Nato must freeze its expansion eastward, especially into former Soviet Republics
• Ukraine must never be allowed to join NATO
• Nato must withdraw its forces in Eastern Europe

The US and Russia are currently in irreconcilable positions over these audacious wishes.

Are ex-Soviet States not free or independent?

When the Soviet Union disintegrated, former Soviet states became independent republics. They were given the freedom to make decisions for themselves. 

Putin treats all former Soviet states as within his sphere of influence and he believes he’s at liberty to grab any piece of their pie with or without their consent.

Putin invaded Georgia and grabbed South Ossetia in August 2008 without provocation. He claimed the Georgian govern. 

In 2014, Putin invaded and seized Crimea, a part of Ukraine on the flimsy excuse that the people living there speak Russian language or are pro-Russians or Russians.

What defines the geography of a country? Is it its ethnicity? Then Xinjiang and Tibet shouldn’t be part of China because they aren’t Han Chinese yet Putin supports China in this regard.