Final Word from Monday, February 24, 2014
You've got to hand it to Václav Klaus. He certainly knows how to attract lightning bolts. His 10-point commentary on Fri. to the events in Ukraine immediately drew fire from those who said he was acting as a proxy for the Kremlin, but he was in fact able to get his views across much better than the Czech foreign ministry. It issued only a short statement, and in its media appearances it seemed to be backing away from the idea of a clear path to EU membership for Ukraine, without explaining the alternative. Klaus said in his commentary that Ukraine was put together artificially and that this has led to continuos political paralysis. Forcing it to decide between the East and the West, he said, is to break it up. He clearly would prefer it to remain a single country in the Russian orbit, but the logical arguments he uses in fact tend to favor a peaceful division. He could even help advise on how it is done against the will of the people. [Czech Republic separation divorce European Union Russia Czechoslovakia]
Glossary of difficult words
have to hand it to someone - used to acknowledge the merit or achievement of someone;
proxy - the authority to represent someone else;
orbit - a sphere of activity, interest or application.