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... The Anatoly Kolodkin is steaming toward the Caribbean.

The Russian oil tanker's official destination, according to one of its public broadcasts: "Atlantis, USA." More probably, it's the Cuban port of Matanzas.

Ferrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil across the Atlantic, the tanker is flying a Russian flag. A Russian warship escorted it through the English Channel, where it was tracked by the Royal Navy for 48 hours, only to turn back as soon as the tanker was clear.

While the Kremlin declined to confirm reports of Russian oil heading to Cuba, it also has made little effort to conceal its hand.

That's because the tanker was never really about Cuba at all, people close to the White House, former ambassadors and Russia observers told POLITICO. It's a message, they said -- a negotiating chit, a provocation designed to force a disproportionate American response while Washington is consumed elsewhere. ...