Why is this any business of the US?
Because Obama wants to go down in history as the man who won the cold war and brought Communist Russia to its knees, all for some poor defenseless Crimeans who foolishly voted for secession against the will of the people. This is like one of those pictures of stairs that go around in a circle.
It can grow to be more than just a concern. When Hitler marched through Europe, we also thought - not our business. Ended up there anyway, with a lot of preventable losses.
Now with the parliamentary vote, it isn't.....
The Russian Federation currently has 21 regions called Republics. In 1954, when the Soviet Union transferred the Autonomous Republic of Crimea to the Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic did they have the consent of the Russian Federation? What does autonomy mean? Can you imagine that if the United States was composed of 49 states and a Republic of Texas, that perhaps Texas was something special?
This is not like the case of the German-speaking Sudentenland of Czechslovakia which was never a geographically-defined region. The self-proclaimed Province of Sudentenland in 1918 was only a portion of what the German Empire later seized.
As far as I'm concerned, the status if Crimea is an internal Russian matter. However, if the Russians want to return Köningsburg and East Prussia back to Germany, I think we have a deal.
Because the US entered into an agreement TWICE that the Ukraine was safe from Russia. You want to just say ah well our word means nithing when you agree to give up your self defense weapebs and then when youvget invaded... screw off. Japan should be very worried.