And here is Edward Lucas castigating the latest EU signs of ‘moving on’ following the Russian dismemberment of Georgia, not least the UK position:

Britain’s decision to allow France to lead the European Union back into normal relations with Vladimir Putin’s ex-KGB regime in Russia is one of the most startling volte-faces in our country’s recent diplomatic history.

It has left our allies in Eastern Europe – Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – aghast at our duplicity. "Our last European hope just —-ed us. We should have known. For we are but a small faraway country about which they know nothing," a senior official in the region wrote in a despairing email after The Daily Telegraph broke the news on Friday.

Lucas gives a striking example: how should the EU and NATO react if Estonia comes under heavy Russian pressure and demands active protection and support from its partners and allies?

One possible and indeed likely approach would be to hold a very important meeting and agree to look stern. And then emulate Violet Elizabeth Bott, except in a higher octave:

I’ll thqueak and thqueak and thqueak till I’m thick — I can, you know!

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