NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL: It is a measure of how low American-Russian relations have sunk that a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Secretary of State John Kerry that achieves nothing is perceived as good news. But good news it was when they met for four hours in the southern Russian city of Sochi on Tuesday, following talks between Mr. Kerry and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov.
With Russia and NATO dangerously shadowboxing around their borders, and American troops and tanks arriving in Georgia for joint exercises, and with the need for cooperation over Syria, Iran, Yemen and Libya, it was wise to engage in diplomacy…
Yet the United States and Germany seem more intent at this juncture on getting the Minsk agreement to stick than to push for a final settlement on the secessionist provinces, giving Ukraine time to gain control over its ravaged finances and get moving on needed reforms… (more)
