Al Jazeera quoted various theories from analysts, ranging from Putin secretly writing Maduro off during his meeting with Trump in Alaska last August as part of a wide-ranging economic and security deal, to Putin hoping that Trump might agree that both America and Russia have “spheres of interest” that should be mutually respected. Politico on Tuesday quoted analysts who saw a cloud of dejection settling over Moscow as its client dictators topple like bowling pins, former allies like Armenia and Azerbaijan look to the West, the United States reasserts its hemispheric Monroe Doctrine (cheekily redubbed the “Donroe Doctrine” by Trump), and Putin can do little but pour more blood and money into the Ukraine meat grinder. Having launched the world’s most devastating war of imperial conquest against Ukraine in 2022, the Russians are not even in a position to score a few cheap political points by complaining about the alleged violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty, although a few of the more optimistic Russian war-hawk bloggers fantasized that America would somehow have reduced standing to criticize Putin’s vicious war.
Author: John Hayward
Published at: 2026-01-06 21:59:22
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