Precisely what happened when a British destroyer sailed past Russian-annexed Crimea on June 23 remains in dispute. There is little doubt, though, that Russian ships fired shots in the vicinity of the Royal Navy vessel, in one of the most high-profile confrontations between Russian forces and a Nato member in recent years. All this took place just as France and Germany launched what turned out to be an abortive effort to persuade the EU to sit down for talks with Moscow. The two episodes highlight the dilemma facing western democracies over how to handle Vladimir Putin’s Moscow.
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Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (R), Russian President Vladimir Putin (2ndL), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2ndR) and French President Emmanuel Macron (front) talk on the sidelides of a Peace summit on Libya in Berlin on Jan. 19, 2020.
