A Russian military aircraft is shot down by a missile fired from a Turkish aircraft. Representatives of Nato members gather for an “extraordinary meeting” to discuss the incident. It feels like the 1950s, cold war and all — but appearances are deceiving.
This is not yet a crisis, and if what took place is allowed to fester — or worse yet escalate, — Isis will be the big winner. Turkey is unlikely to fall out with Russia, on which it depends for gas. But this distraction might sidetrack the effort to build a better international response to Isis in the wake of the Paris attacks.
Today’s Russia is half the size of the Soviet Union. It has a shrinking economy dependent on oil exports, and is motivated not by an ideology with global pretensions but by nationalism fused with the persona of President Vladimir Putin. Nothing links its aggression in Crimea and eastern Ukraine with what is happening in the Middle East other than Mr Putin’s search for a bigger role for his country, which plays well at home. Perspective is called for. Russia is not a superpower. The threat it poses at times to western interests should be dealt with but not exaggerated.