Clear Directives to Russia

With regards to the continuing  future Ukraine identity events, the Western Alliance should resist being puppeteer by Putin's cynical ploy to confuse and to frustrate. Russian menacing, followed by agreements to talks from London, to Paris to New York to Geneva, is getting pretty old. The Western Alliance needs to set clear directives to Russia on condition to any agreement for future talks. The only person making any gains from this hot/cold issue, is Putin: his ego is stoked each time a civil diplomat, on a quest for peace, sits in the name of stability across from the Russian side that is not acting rationally. Outgoing NATO Chief, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, understands this ploy by Russia very well. He has said that Russia needs to start moving back its troops from Ukraine's borders as a first step to start dialogue. Russia wanting talks without any concessions, I submit, is a deliberate attempt to confuse and to frustrate. As the NATO Chief told Russia from Prague last week, "You have a choice to stop blaming others for your own actions, to stop massing your troops, to stop escalating this crisis and start engaging in genuine dialogue." Maybe by the end of this day, and once NATO Security Chief Air Force General Philip Breedlove, has presented his assigned task to re-shift NATO forces, just maybe, Russia will sit to solutions in earnest.