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Bad news hit the Kremlin thick and fast last week, but on Friday evening (August 1), President Vladimir Putin answered a phone call from US President Barack Obama, who again stressed that the Kremlin鈥檚 mounting problems can be resolved diplomatically (, August 1). Putin鈥檚 personal responsibility for the war in eastern Ukraine is apparently no longer up for discussion. Meanwhile, the West鈥攁fter having vigorously mobilized a political effort to enforce far tougher sanctions than Moscow had budgeted for鈥攊s seemingly granting him an 鈥渉onorable鈥� way out. In Washington, and even more so in Berlin, there is understandable reluctance to heighten Putin鈥檚 desperation and to push him into a corner where further domestic mobilization against the 鈥渉ostile鈥� North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would be his only choice (, July 28). And yet, risk remains that Putin may be interpreting every offer for a compromise solution as a sign of weakness or as a trap aimed at undermining his credibility. Therefore, Obama did not hide his doubts about his irrationally thinking counterpart鈥檚 response to the West鈥檚 diplomatic message (, August 1).

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