"...you have to admit it’s at least a respectable opening foray."


Phhh...I think not. These people are still under the delusion that they can somehow dictate terms & I believe that time has long gone.

Putin would be foolish to accept anything other than Crimea, the Donbas and indeed the entire Black sea litoral: Mikoliev, Odessa and beyond with a neutral Ukraine & no foreign troops whatsoever in Ukrainian soil.

He must be aware by now that unless he resolves this and creates a stable Russo-phonic border with no opportunity nor temptation whatsoever for any NATO presence at the Black Sea, then it will all happen again.

I despise war, but anything less than this would be merely a postponement of the "entertainment" involved in watching poor wretched men chased by machines and blown to pieces on an even grander scale.

There's really no point meeting Kellogg: the guy is on another planet in terms of perception, events & resolution: as are all the Yanquis.