LONDON—U.S. officials negotiating with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the future of Ukraine were surprised last week after the experienced diplomat excused himself to phone President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
His making such a call wasn't unusual: Mr. Lavrov often sought instructions from the Kremlin leader. The Americans were stunned, however, when Mr. Lavrov reported that Mr. Putin had refused to take his call.
-Wall Street Journal.
This is bad. Lavrov was hardly good cop to Putin's bad cop but he was willing to talk. Putin wasn't willing to talk, to Lavrov. As The New York Times' Ellen Berry wrote, the whole Foreign Ministry was largely cut off from Putin in the Ukraine thing. Putin relied on those old Cold War guys.
There has been a sea change inside the Kremlin and inside Putin's cranium and it is all bad. From Ms. Berry's article, we know what has happened. What we don't know is why.
