A pithy turn of a phrase from Richard Sakwa, professor of Russian and European politics and the University of Kent, from his latest book, Frontline Ukraine: Crisis in the Borderlands:
[A] fateful geographical paradox: that Nato exists to manage the risks created by its existence.
One of the risks NATO has created stems from its expansion eastward after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. That risk has found its focal point in Ukraine, and stupid moves by either the western alliance or Russia or both could lead to all-out war.
Well said. Thank you.