Russia And Ukraine

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The legal process required to make Crimea part of Russia will be completed this week, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to bring the Ukrainian region into Russia on Tuesday and the lower house of parliament was expected to ratify it later on Thursday. The upper house will follow suit on Friday.

"Practical steps are being taken to implement the agreements on the entry of Crimea and (the Crimean port city of) Sevastopol into Russia," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Lavrov as saying. "The legal process will be completed this week."

Russia's moves to annex the Black Sea peninsula, which has a narrow ethnic Russian minority, has turned a confrontation with Europe and the United States into the biggest crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War.

Lavrov blamed the West in a veiled reference to he United States, saying Western nations were trying to "preserve their global leadership and display their exceptionalism rather than striving to be guided by international law."

"The events in Ukraine are a reflection of these approaches," Lavrov said, adding that Moscow would continue to use "political, diplomatic and legal methods" to protect Russians abroad.

"We will insist that countries in which our compatriots have found themselves fully respect their rights and freedoms," he said. Russia accuses the new pro-Western authorities in Kiev of endangering Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine.

SWIFT MOVES ON INTEGRATION

In addition to ratifying the treaty annexing Crimea, Russia's lower house, the State Duma, plans to adopt legislation required to make Crimea and Sevastopol - which is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet - regions of Russia.

Both chambers are loyal to Putin and is doing his bidding over Crimea.

The treaty goes into force once ratified and stipulates that Crimea will be fully integrated into Russia after a transition period ending on January 1.

Russia has begun issuing Russian passports to Crimeans, Interfax quoted Russia's immigration agency chief, Konstantin Romodanovsky, as saying.

Crimean voters overwhelmingly backed joining Russia in a referendum on Sunday but the West says the vote was illegal.

The United States and Europe have imposed sanctions on officials and lawmakers accused of involvement in the annexation, partially suspended military and trade ties, and threatened more punitive measures.

Russian officials are moving swiftly to integrate the region and bolster an economy that has been dependent on Kiev for 85 percent of its electricity, 90 percent of its drinking water and some of its food supplies.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said Russia will cover Crimea's estimated 55 billion ruble ($1.53 billion) budget deficit with funds from the federal budget.

Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Russia would also ensure Crimea has a constant power supply by providing back-up sources and controlling fuel reserves.

Source

Obama Rules Out 'Military Excursion' in Ukraine
By Carrie Dann

President Barack Obama on Thursday ruled out a "military excursion" by the United States in Ukraine, saying that engaging Russia militarily "would not be appropriate."

"We are not going to be getting into a military excursion in Ukraine," he said in an interview with KNSD in San Diego. "What we are going to do is mobilize all of our diplomatic resources to make sure that we've got a strong international coalition that sends a clear message, which is that Ukraine should decide their destiny."

"There is a better path, but I think even the Ukrainians would acknowledge that for us to engage Russia militarily would not be appropriate and would not be good for Ukraine either," he added.

In a separate interview with KSDK in St. Louis, Obama reiterated that a military option is not on the table but that the United States and its allies are prepared to take "even more disruptive economic actions."

"Obviously, we do not need to trigger an actual war with Russia," he said. "The Ukrainians don't want that. Nobody would want that."

Obama granted interviews to six local television stations on Wednesday.

In the interview with KNSD, the president insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin "acted out of weakness, not out of strength," saying that Putin is "not comfortable" with countries loosening their ties to the Kremlin in favor of more freedom to deal with the West.

"His strategic decisions are no way based on whether he thought that we might go to war over this," he added. "I think there’s a clear understanding that when it comes to our core interests or our NATO allies we can protect ourselves."

Source

But what should they do? Making a war would be insane and even though the procedure was very suspicious, this happened with a referendum. Other than give sanctions, what can they do?

But what should they do? Making a war would be insane and even though the procedure was very suspicious, this happened with a referendum. Other than give sanctions, what can they do?

Haven't we recognized Ukraine as a sovereign state? Doesn't their participation in NATO effectively mean NATO protects their sovereignty? Doesn't Russia threaten that sovereignty by annexing Crimea against the will of the rest of Ukraine?

Ukraine was not NATO, though it might have been which forced Putin/Russia's hand to make a power play here. When a NATO ally gets invaded, ***gets real and Russia knows that. The Baltics are in NATO so those are offlimits. At best Putin and co. are trying to bring the former Soviet states back into the fold before they get too cozy with the West.

What Russia did was illegal and damages their reputation with the West but looking at it from the Putin administrations POV what do they have to gain by playing nice with the West? An encroaching NATO on their front porch and further declining power? Does not a good superpower make and we all know Mother Russia wants to be best Russia.

Sanctions seem like a joke but short of going back to hostile with Russia once more there aren't many options. Though that dig at the US on Iraq was just for bluster but it isn't like the US gives a *** about international law when our interests are in flux.

Kinda livid when another nation pulls that type of stunt huh?

the sanctions against russia aren't that much. they targeted 21? members of the russian parliament and they responded by passing a measure condemning the sanctions and daring the us to impose sanctions on all 541? members. 81 of them left before the vote, but they aren't scared or concerned.

venice wants to secede from italy