US President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton this week paid a visit to Moscow and the Caucasus. While meeting with the Russian officialdom and in particular with President Vladimir Putin, he was uncharacteristically coy and subdued, so much so that MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow ridiculed him in one episode.
But once he arrived in the Caucasus, he was back to his old brash, bellicose and blunt self.
His objective was no secret although it was couched in a palatable package: he was in the region in pursuit of peace and stability. His words and actions, however, left no doubt that he was there to make political mischief.
His mission was two-fold: further isolating Russia and “squeezing Iran,” as he termed it.
All that turbulent region needs is more American meddling to raise the temperature further.
During his tour, Mr. Bolton visited Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan and in each country, he tried to further delineate the fault lines.