Is he loosing it, is he doing it on purpose or is it just a rumor stretched by media? Allegedly, Mr.Putin hinted that Ukraine might stop existing in its current form if NATO admits this country into the Alliance. He also said that Russia might recognize Abkhazia and South Osetiya and thus create a buffer zone between Russia and Georgia in case if Georgia gets a membership in NATO.

But what is really interesting is how he handled and expressed himself during a private meeting between invitees to Bucharest meeting. Now, this story is based on rumors so it is up to you whether you buy it or not, however…Apparently, Putin wasn’t really concerned about Georgia or its plans but when a conversation touched Ukrainian topic that’s when cough, cough, “emotions” hit the fan. Russian President flipped and told Mr. Bush that Ukraine is not even a state and a part of its territory is Eastern European all while a significant slice of it was a gift by Russia. Furthermore, he hinted that if NATO doesn’t get it and proceeds with a membership then Ukraine will be reshaped, i.e. Russia will take possession of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea.

So, is this true? So far there was no official response from Russian authorities. However, Ukrainian political party “Our Ukraine-People’s Self-defense” intends to ask Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify whether Mr.Putin made such comments. At the same time some already requested Ukrainian authorities to “honor” Mr.Putin with a status of “persona non-gratis”. So while officials trying to figure out how to deal with this situation, whether these comments were made and what might be the consequences if they indeed took place, we can only speculate and wait for further developments. I, myself, wouldn’t be surprise if Mr.Putin did say something like that. After all, if one decides to surf Russian internet forums, newspapers or TV channels, he would inevitably notice a wave of nationalistic frenzy. Russia finally woke up from democratic slumber and went back to business, i.e. restoring balance of powers. And while we can discount Putin’s comments any way we want, a popular slogan “United Russia” is now imbued with new sense and that’s something we shouldn’t discount generously.

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