Christopher Granville, Today's Zaman (Turkey)
The leaders of Russia and Ukraine will meet in Astana, Kazakstan, on January 15 to discuss, once again, an end to the fighting that has roiled eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region since last spring. Hopes for a viable agreement are not high. One reason why the crisis in Ukraine has proved so difficult to overcome is that its roots stretch far outside the country’s borders. Finding a genuine solution will require the resolution of a dispute between Russia and the West that dates back to the 1990s, before Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power.