Ukrainian oilygarchs distraught over loss of Crimea petrol reserves

That, in a nutshell, is why "the West" is so concerned about democracy in Ukraine and Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Yup, turns out there could be gold in that there Black Sea... black gold, and lots of it.

And you thought our concerns were based on our love of freedom and democracy?

Get real!

This does however raise the question, why should the West's foreign policy, dictated as it is by ExxonShellBP, be perturbed by whether those Black Sea reserves are controlled by Moscow or Kiev? After all, even in the wake of incessant blather about "punishing sanctions", it's business as usual for the international petroleum big dogs in Russia.

Here's why it matters; in dealing with Kiev the oil majors are assured of negotiating with the latest in a long line of kleptocrats, each greedier than the last, and all eager to sell out the interests of the Ukrainian people for personal enrichment. That's been the history of Ukraine since independence, and that's the way we like it.

With Russia in control of the Black Sea oil reserves, we have to deal with Putin instead...

Long live a free and democratic Ukraine!