[SmokingJoe]

He’s not convincing Putin to pull out of Crimea or the part of Ukraine it occupies anytime soon

Except that the Crimea has been part of Russia since 1783, and was only gifted to the Ukraine by Stalin in 1954, at a time when both Ukraine and Russia were part of the USSR. Ukraine has no historic claim to the Crimea. The Russians simply took back what belonged to them. Most of the people in the Crimea are Russian. The Crimea has been part of Russia for far longer than it's been a part of the Ukraine.
I don't see what the fuss is about.

[Zhang Fei]

[Except that the Crimea has been part of Russia since 1783, and was only gifted to the Ukraine by Stalin in 1954, at a time when both Ukraine and Russia were part of the USSR. Ukraine has no historic claim to the Crimea. The Russians simply took back what belonged to them. Most of the people in the Crimea are Russian. The Crimea has been part of Russia for far longer than it’s been a part of the Ukraine.
I don’t see what the fuss is about. ]

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Bringing up Russian talking points doesn’t really resolve the issue. Ukraine has been part of Russia since 1686. So perhaps Ukraine should be part of Russia. And Finland was conquered by Russia in 1809. So maybe Finland should simply resign itself to being a Russian oblast. Come to think of it - the Ottoman Empire owned Crimea for over 300 years, longer than it has ever been in Russia’s possession.

So maybe it should be Turkish territory. The point being that we are supposed to have moved into an era in which countries don’t acquire land by force. Because the moment that happens, then it is legit to punish the aggressor and break his country up, as was done to the Axis powers after WWII.