Putin's portion of humble pie

Important men like Robert Gates don't usually spend much time in bijou backwaters like Tallinn, the picturesque capital of Estonia. But the US defence secretary has two strong reasons for being there today. One was to demonstrate Washington's solidarity with the Baltic states rattled by Russia's summer invasion of Georgia. The other was to urge Nato defence ministers to offer an alliance membership plan to Ukraine.
All the same, Gates was in the wrong place. The people with most influence over what happens next on Georgia and Ukraine were gathering far to the south, in Nice, ahead of tomorrow's EU-Russia summit hosted by France. The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, will be there, as will European leaders. The Americans were not invited.

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