Posted on 03/31/2014 10:14:02 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a "partial withdrawal" of troops from the border with Ukraine, the German government has said.
Mr Putin informed Chancellor Angela Merkel of the move in a telephone conversation, according to her office.
Thousands of Russian soldiers are still said to be deployed along the border.
Earlier, Ukraine condemned a visit to Crimea by Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and a delegation of government ministers.
A foreign ministry spokesman in Kiev said the highest-level trip to the Black Sea peninsula by officials from Moscow since its annexation by Russia was a "crude violation" of international rules.
A note protesting against the presence of an official in "the territory of another state without preliminary agreement" had been sent, he added.
Crimeans voted to leave Ukraine for Russia on 16 March, in a referendum condemned as illegal by the UN General Assembly.
Mr Medvedev said he would make Crimea a special economic zone. He also vowed to quickly boost salaries and pensions, and to improve education, healthcare and local infrastructure.
'Calmed down'
Russia's decision to annex Crimea has triggered a crisis in relations with the West.
The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on members of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and other officials. Russia has retaliated with its own sanctions on US lawmakers.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that resolving the crisis depended on Russia pulling back its troops from along Ukraine's border.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
No idea how to answer the questions, Jim. Thankfully, was wrong earlier when I thought the ‘go’ was Sunday a.m. for the troops to invade.
Sounds like a play out of the DNC. We want the whole Ukraine. Okay, you win. We’ll settle for half.
Or should I say the DNC tactics are right out of the old communist party playbook.
The next step is up to the US.
Integration of Crimea with Russia though is an irreversible fact, underlined by the visit of the Russian government to Simferopol and Sevastopol today.
The intention is to transform it into a low tax zone like Kaliningrad and Russia will subsidize out of the federal budget, travel to and from Crimea.
Like in the Soviet time, it should again become a summer holiday destination for Russians.
Gee, Wally - you mean he didn't call up the Grand Kenyan first?
Obama and Kerry are going to crow about standing up to bully Putin and move on from the Ukraine like they did in Syria leaving Ukraine at Putin’s mercy.
I think Putin is done annexing Ukraine and is now offering Obama a way to save face, i.e, to claim that he (Obama) successfully defused a potential international crisis.
I agree. They’ll say the won because they got Putin to do what they wanted him to do and they prevented a nuclear war. And the media will loudly proclaim victory for their master.
“Obama and Kerry are going to crow about standing up to bully Putin and move on from the Ukraine like they did in Syria leaving Ukraine at Putin’s mercy.”
Absolutely. As much as I love to see The Boy King FAIL, I’d like it to actually have some CONSEQUENCES for once!
SO tired of the constant @ss-covering for this POS.
Strange you mentioned Kaliningrad because Russia is not offering a referendum there. Everyone I meet from Kaliningrad are quick to point out that there are really from Königsberg as it is really a German town. What If Merkel sends in special forces with bandanas over their faces?
Helping his fellow comrade, comrade Hussein "Frillypants' 0bama, save face?
Dear, dear Comrade Putin, defender of summer holiday destinations.
one possibility — pro-Moscow insurgency inside Ukraine will accomplish the same thing as a Russian invasion.
Obama paid Iran a lot of $$$$ to make them pull back a little while in the nuclear program.
I wonder if Putin saw this and demanded Obama pay him off to not invade.
Putin appears to cut a deal with Merkel, while blowing off 0bama. Merkel empowered, 0bama marginalized, NATO fractured.
You gotta admit, that Putin guy knows how to play the game.
My understanding is that the Russians sent out some feelers to the Germans about taking Kaliningrad off their hands. The Germans said “no thanks.” The Soviets used Kaliningrad as their toxic waste dump. Nobody wants it now.
Strange-
my future father-in-law ordered a
“full withdrawal”, not a partial withdrawal,
coz I was almost crossing the border into no-man`s land.
Damn Putin is playing this perfectly.
Partial is not full. Set your snooze alarm for May 25th. I am willing to bet we’ll see plenty of ‘drills’ from the Russian military between now and then. The election results and any unrest that may or may not happen will be key. A lot can happen between now and then.
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