Putin completes annexation of Crimea

[morningfog]

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin has signed bills making Crimea part of Russia, completing the annexation from Ukraine.

Putin hailed the incorporation of Crimea into Russia as a "remarkable event" before he signed the bills into law in the Kremlin on Friday.

http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Putin-no-need-for-further-retaliation-against-US-5336969.php

[Takket]

1. Is Russia better off?

Is Russia really better off? People all seem to believe that taking Crimea has expanded russia's power, but the trade Putin was depending on getting from Yanukovich is now permananently lost to the EU, and there will no longer be any cooperation or trade of any kind between Ukraine and Russia. The relationship between Russia and the EU/USA has been damanged and will hurt trade between those entities. There is no way any sort of economic benefits reaped from controlling Crimea are going to outweigh the lost business between Russia and the world's most wealthy countries. Sure they may turn to other isolated states like Iran, Syria and NK to try and make up their losses, and I'm sure those isolated countries would love to buy more Russian goods... but they have no money!


This was a face saving move by Putin and everyone over there can wave their flags and be excited that their leader took over part of a country without firing a shot, but does Crimea's addition increase Russia's influence over world affairs? No way.

just my 2 cents

[morningfog]

2. The non-cooperation of the west is not permanent. It will take time, but US/EU will

eventually return to working with Russia.

[Takket]

3. That is very true...

but what does it mean for Putin? By the time lucrative trade returns, he may be ousted or severly crippled in his political standing. The worse things get there the more people will complain, and you can only throw so many protesters in prison.

[dipsydoodle]

4. All that annexing Crimea has really achieved is securing the naval base

and access to the off shore gas deposits. I'm still not sure whether Crimea becomes literally part of Russia or becomes an independent state.

How Crimea will fare economically remains to be seen. Seemingly most of their trade was and will remain with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Kiev had claimed that Crimea represented a net loss to Ukraine anyway in terms of receipts and expenditure.

The absence any cooperation or trade of any kind between Ukraine and Russia will be at least a short term issue. The loss of those exports , which one would assume to be profitable, will not necessarily be be replaced by Europe and imports from Europe would not only likely be more expensive , the tariffs were are being removed were not high anyway , payment would be required in foreign currency of which Ukraine is desperately short : some kind of promise to pay "sometime" may no longer work.

[reformist2]

5. Crimeans are - they're back where they wanted to be.