Well Things Just Got Real

In case you were wondering what the White House response on Crimea was going to be, it's the following:

We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the European Council and President of the European Commission, join together today to condemn the Russian Federation’s clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in contravention of Russia’s obligations under the UN Charter and its 1997 basing agreement with Ukraine. We call on Russia to address any ongoing security or human rights concerns that it has with Ukraine through direct negotiations, and/or via international observation or mediation under the auspices of the UN or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We stand ready to assist with these efforts.

We also call on all parties concerned to behave with the greatest extent of self-restraint and responsibility, and to decrease the tensions.

We note that Russia’s actions in Ukraine also contravene the principles and values on which the G-7 and the G-8 operate. As such, we have decided for the time being to suspend our participation in activities associated with the preparation of the scheduled G-8 Summit in Sochi in June, until the environment comes back where the G-8 is able to have meaningful discussion.

"G-8 summit?  You mean G-7 Summit.  There are only seven nations."

I personally think this is a mistake, because it allows Putin to play the victim card and say all the other countries are ganging up on him.  That will "justify" whatever next step he decides to take.  If Putin were a rational actor, this would be a good idea.  But it's not because Putin is not a rational actor, he's basically pulling a Tea Party 101 move.

So we'll see what Putin's next move is.