David Fuller's view "Please kindly review the following strategic letter that was published today in the NY Times by Vladimir Putin.


"I sincerely hope the Fullermoney collective find this of interest. These pivotal geopolitical events on the ground change day by day."

My view - Thanks for the link to this interesting letter. It is certainly a refreshing change from the former Soviet Union's crude diplomacy, typified by Nikita Khrushchev's post-Stalin table thumping (1953-64). Mr Putin has referred to the USSR with nostalgia on several occasions.

Moreover, Mr Putin's background and history are well known. Nevertheless, we are certainly seeing a policy change, not least as he does not want Syria's weapons to fall into the hands of Islamist extremists who could use them against Russia or anywhere else. I also discussed this at the beginning of Wednesday's Audio.

I am trying to maintain an open mind, not least because if Putin succeeds in persuading Assad's regime to surrender its chemical weapons and Syria joins the Chemical Weapons Convention, that is certainly preferable to a military strike. Here is a related article. Additionally, Bloomberg's Editorial is relevant if you are interested in more on this subject.