Putin rebuffs Obama as Ukraine crisis escalates

[steve2470]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin rebuffed a warning from U.S. President Barack Obama over Moscow's military intervention in Crimea, saying on Friday that Russia could not ignore calls for help from Russian speakers in Ukraine.

After an hour-long telephone call, Putin said in a statement that Moscow and Washington were still far apart on the situation in the former Soviet republic, where he said the new authorities had taken "absolutely illegitimate decisions on the eastern, southeastern and Crimea regions.

"Russia cannot ignore calls for help and it acts accordingly, in full compliance with international law," Putin said.

Ukraine's border guards said Moscow had poured troops into the southern peninsula where Russian forces have seized control.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/07/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA1Q1E820140307

[EC]

1. Well, gee, he knows that the American right wing

HAS HIS BACK. So why should he take the President seriously?

[okaawhatever]

2. Yep, Putin definitely wants a war. I hope there's still time to reverse it. nt

[PFunk]

3. The new cold war's back on folks

Now lets see if we can limit it's damage before it gets worse. As while I have a lot of problems w/Obama imaging things now if the other guy got in.

[quadrature]

4. Obama opposes/supports the upcoming sham-referendum?

any predictions?
................
the referendum on Crimea joining Russia
is expected to be approved by
a 98.2% yes vote.

[bemildred]

6. Obama has already said the referendum is illegitimate.

I don't expect that will change any time soon. On the other he's not likely to do much else about it.

[MBS]

5. reminds me, and not in a good way,

about the way the Soviet Union decided to "rescue" Czechoslovakia in 1968, in response to bogus "requests for help".
Very, very upsetting.
So far, Obama and Kerry are doing a great job given the situation: but they are very boxed in.
We can't go to war over this, but bullies like Putin should not be allowed to win. I hope the US/UN/EU can come up with a clever way to make Putin stand down.

This very delicate task is made even more difficult by less-than-courageous behavior by some European countries. Here's a depressing article about the UK, which apparently is loathe to lose income from their resident Russian oligarchs:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-26426969


sigh

[cosmicone]

7. How about not fucking with another country's back yard?

Especially a powerful one at that?

I wonder how many people on DU would have the same attitude if Russians were to install a Marxist totalitarian government in Mexico with a coup against the democratically elected one.

[2banon]

9. They don't get it.

The handful of pro-war du'rs say this is a "false equivalency" ..

They're so hung up on their hatred it seems they're incapable of this straight forward - real life analogy. They don't seem to remember the cuban missile crises..

It occurs to me they're all too young, possibly not even born yet when that happened here.

[riversedge]

8. This happened cause Pres Obama

wore jeans!!

[davidpdx]

10. and they were mom jeans