Uber-Putin surrenders to Obama's weak chin and furious blinking.

[Moonbeam]

It is a known fact that Putin likes Bazooka Bubble Gum!! All Bubble Gum in Russia is imported!! They do not make Bubble Gum in Russia!!
Obama threatened to stop the import of Bazooka Bubble Gum!!

That is why Putin caved!!

We can thank our lucky stars they didn't name that gum Pink Lady Bubble Gum.

 

[cubby1223]

Someone didn't receive the ceasefire memo...
http://www.npr.org/2014/06/24/325082713/ukraines-cease-fire-jeopardized-by-deadly-attack

It's going to be a long, long road ahead to peace. Anyone who wants to score political points over temporary words of peace by people who are not personally engaged in the fighting...

 

[werepossum]

Because all Putin wanted was the Crimea. His biggest problem was how to keep it without having the US lose face. Well played, sir, well played.

Maybe, although Putin seems to be pretty concerned with making the US lose face as a matter of policy. I'm guessing that he honestly wanted Crimea, but beyond that he also sent a message to other former satellites that if they dare move away from Russian hegemony and toward the West, they will pay an unacceptable price in loss of territory and destabilization. Remember that the Soviet Union settled ethnic Russians in all conquered states, so the same justification for armed intervention can be used in any of them.

Still, whether this is Putin withdrawing his claim on his own timetable for his own purposes, at least Obama didn't blunder us into a world war. That's a win.

I don't see how that answers my question. Who cares what Putin wants he's breaking international law. And he's shown to be responsive to sanctions or else he would have taken east Ukraine too.

Sanctions worked to get him to back off Ukraine.
Sanctions should work to get him to give chimera back.

Crimea is a special case in that it was historically Russian and was transferred internally to Ukraine when Russia essentially ruled Ukraine, thus costing Russia nothing. A great many Russians wanted Crimea back and are willing to pay the cost to get it. And being majority ethnic Russian, it's not such a good fit with Ukraine anyway.

 

[cubby1223]

Crimea is a special case in that it was historically Russian and was transferred internally to Ukraine when Russia essentially ruled Ukraine, thus costing Russia nothing. A great many Russians wanted Crimea back and are willing to pay the cost to get it. And being majority ethnic Russian, it's not such a good fit with Ukraine anyway.

Exactly how "historically Russian" is Crimea? At the end of WWII the Soviets deported the native population and moved Russians in. Before that time the land was basically land held by whichever foreign nation had the strongest army in global politics.

 

[theeedude]

Unlike Crimea, Putin doesn't want Eastern Ukraine in Russia. This is all about leverage. Crimea in Ukraine was Ukraine's leverage over Russia, because Russia had naval base there. Putin took away that leverage from Ukraine. Ability to destabilize Eastern Ukraine is Russia's leverage over the Kiev government. But only if it stays in Ukraine. It's like twisting someone's arm to get them to do what you want. It doesn't work if you cut that arm off first.