Referring to the sanctions imposed on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, Putin said:
Geopolitical opponents."We cannot expect a change in the hostile policies of some of our geopolitical opponents in the immediate future."
A Google search for that exact phrase along with Putin's name indicates that this is the first time he has used it publicly in such a context, at least in the last year, which is the timeframe the search covered.
Why does it matter? Well, maybe it doesn't.
Comment: In the high-stakes arena of international politics, it's a safe bet that every word is carefully chosen.
But however you look at it, "geopolitical opponents" is certainly quite a departure from the usual "our Western partners" — the stock phrase Putin has used most often to refer to the US and EU, regardless of how strained relations are.
This may be the first time Putin has framed the stand-off between Russia and the West in such stark terms. It is also worth noting, however, that the usual phrase "our Western partners" sometimes takes on a bit of a perhaps deliberately ironic tone when he uses it.
As for "geopolitical opponents" ...maybe it was simply a turn of phrase not meant to indicate any particular change in mindset. Or maybe it was a deliberate comment, intended to be picked up on in order to indicate a change in strategic thinking. It's impossible to know. But in politics, most things, from the color of a tie to the precise wording of a seemingly throwaway phrase, are deliberate. And in Putin's case, he's not someone who usually minces his words.
It's also notable that the change in language came just days after the Pentagon unveiled its latest National Military Strategy, in which it listed Russia as a primary challenge, along with ISIS, North Korea and Iran.
To be clear, this should in no way be interpreted as an attempt to partake in that ever-popular pastime of Putin mind-reading. There's already far too much of that going on, much of it closer to deliberate mis-interpretation than anything else.
We probably shouldn't read too much into this yet — although some no doubt are already building nuclear shelters in their back yards. Deliberate or random, this probably does not yet signal any sort of tectonic shift in Putin's geopolitical strategizing.
But, if things do take a turn for the even-worse, we might later trace it back to the moment when "our Western partners" became "our geopolitical opponents".
as usual, if a bully wants to start a fight, there really isn't much you can do to avoid him if he is determined to do so. The best you can do is nip it in the bud, and in this case of global nucs as a weapon of choice, perhaps one should start by playing around the edges, such as Syria? Turkey is vulnerable, as is Jordan in their support of our jihadi terrorist training facilities in their countries, as is Israel, but then that's to be taken for granted, what would Israel be without an enemy? That would cease to exist, and isn't that pretty much the same for our entire debt ridden economy here in the West? Thus the need for war and its 'simpler times'. Who doesn't love a good war? Assuming there really is one, right? At least Putin is preparing his public for the inevitable, and the EU as well as all the usual suspects from Tel Aviv to Riyadh and beyond. Given the current situation, it seems time to send a message and perhaps there really is none better than in the fight against ISIS in Syria/Iraq and apparently Egypt or God only knows where else our jihadi friends have been sent.... they are everywhere we want the to be, how nice is that? And they don't threaten us at all, nor our 'friends'... how convenient.
Time to dance, one can't play the wallflower all their life, especially when one is in so much demand. It seems Putin is playing 'hard to get'. Why not join the dance? If reluctant, do so in a manner and place of one's own chosing, perhaps in sync with similar dances by friends in the East? It seems there are vulnerabilites nearly everywhere when one's opponents are so over exposed. Dancing can be fun if the tune suits one's rhy