“Mr. Putin made this decision around Crimea and Ukraine - not because of some grand strategy, but essentially because he was caught off-balance by the protests in the Maidan and [former Ukrainian President Viktor] Yanukovych then fleeing after we had brokered a deal to transition power in Ukraine,” Obama said.
“This improvisation that he's been doing has … gotten him deeper and deeper into a situation that is a violation of international law, that violates the integrity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, has isolated Russia diplomatically, has made Europe wary of doing business with Russia, [and that] has allowed the imposition of sanctions that are crippling Russia's economy at a time when their oil revenues are dropping.
“The annexation of Crimea is a cost, not a benefit, to Russia. The days in which the conquest of land somehow was a formula for great nation status [are] over.”
As reported earlier, the U.S. president promised to step up pressure on Russia due to the Ukrainian crisis, and at the same time bolster support for Kyiv.
