USA Africa Dialogue Series - Putin Ukraine and Ethiopia

Putin plays chess while the West plays chequers

What do Ukraine and Ethiopia

have in common? Well it seems that

 the West was pitching for the secession 

of Tigray in northern Ethiopia, with 

its support of the

TPLF, even though Ethiopia, was

an ally. Someone in the U.S State 

Department mixed up their notes.

 In any case that secession did not 

materialize. Abiy Ahmed didn't get 

the Nobel Prize in vain,after all.

Then Putin decides to up the ante

and support  not one, but two 

secessionist regions carved out

 from Eastern Ukraine. Welcome 

to  the newborn republics of 

Luhansk and Donetsk!

Meanwhile, Mali asks the French to

pack their knapsacks and leave

immediately, emboldened by their

anti- French and anti -jihadist 

population, willing to

 accept Putin's helping hand to

fight the insurgents.

So what is the next move?

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net; vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association