[Marguerite]

Russia is unlikely to pull back its military forces in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, analysts and former Obama administration officials say, forcing the United States and Europe into a more limited strategy of trying to prevent President Vladimir Putin from making advances elsewhere in the former Soviet republic.

It’s an unsettling scenario for President Barack Obama, who is under pressure to show he has leverage over Putin in a deepening conflict between East and West. The threat of economic sanctions, along with a series of modest measures that include canceling trade talks with Moscow and suspending plans to attend an international summit in Russia, have so far done little to persuade the Russian leader to pull his forces back from Crimea.

“I’m not optimistic they’re going to leave,” said Michael McFaul

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/analysts-russian-pull-back-crimea-22778882

Sit back and relax, guys. Russia has got back Crimea, without firing a shot.

[hummingbird]

"It’s an unsettling scenario for President Barack Obama, who is under pressure to show he has leverage over Putin in a deepening conflict between East and West. The threat of economic sanctions, along with a series of modest measures that include canceling trade talks with Moscow and suspending plans to attend an international summit in Russia, have so far done little to persuade the Russian leader to pull his forces back from Crimea."

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Back for more information re: Crimea

TIA, Marguerite! I appreciate your posts.

[hummingbird]

"Sit back and relax, guys. Russia has got back Crimea, without firing a shot."

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Can Obama really afford to agitate Russia - they have the International Space Station. US is dependent on Russia for space exploration and presence in space programs.

Putin could just say to US "persona non grata" on ISS and US would be booted.

That would be a real black eye for Obama and US.

"Sit back and relax, guys. Russia has got back Crimea, without firing a shot."

Obama has managed to achieve his goals without firing a shot, too.

[Mashood]

“It’s an unsettling scenario for President Barack Obama, who is under pressure to show he has leverage over Putin in a deepening conflict between East and West. The threat of economic sanctions, along with a series of modest measures that include canceling trade talks with Moscow and suspending plans to attend an international summit in Russia, have so far done little to persuade the Russian leader to pull his forces back from Crimea.”

Bill Clinton: “A few years ago, this guy(Obama)would be getting us coffee”