Zero Hedge:
Authored by Sergei Markov, originally posted at The Moscow Times,
Today, as a result of the Ukrainian crisis, U.S.-Russian relations have hit their lowest point since the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 or of Czechoslovakia in 1969 — or perhaps even since they bottomed out during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Crimean crisis, which began as a power struggle between the ruling authorities in Kiev and opposition forces, transformed in to an attempt to overthrow Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych by pro-Western and nationalist opposition forces with the support of the U.S. and European Union.
The crisis escalated into a conflict between the U.S. and Russia after the West supported a coup, then lied by violating the Feb. 21 agreement when it recognized the formation of a new and illegitimate government of extremists.
This conflict has the potential of sparking a new Cold War — something I never thought could happen in modern times since I believed it would have to be rooted in ideological differences. Instead, Moscow and Washington have billions of dollars of economic interests at stake, making this a geopolitical rather than an ideological Cold War.
Moscow does not see the revolution in Ukraine as an attempt to create a more democratic or law-based society. Instead, it sees the events in Kiev as an attempt to make Ukraine as anti-Russian as possible. The new government represents a minority of the Ukrainian population. It wants to suppress the Russian-speaking majority and violate their right to representation by holding unfair elections on May 25.
Moreover, U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel deceived President Vladimir Putin when they pursuaded him to convince Yanukovych to refrain from using force to quell the Maidan, and then to sign the Feb. 21 agreement — which they refused to uphold. Instead, they told Russia to accept the new reality in Ukraine. But why should Moscow accept that reality when it is directed against Russia, democracy and human rights?
What did Russia do to become the focus of so much animosity? Is it because it prevented the West from bombing Syria? Because it persuaded Yanukovych not to sign the Association Agreement — a treaty of little real importance to the EU? Those are trivial reasons for starting a new Cold War.
It seems that the West simply does not like Putin. He is a huge obstacle who prevents them from achieving global hegemony. For this reason alone he must be broken. Nobody in Moscow has any doubt that what happened in Ukraine will be repeated in Moscow in two or three years. Without Putin, there will be few world leaders left who have the power or courage to stand up to Washington. When this happens, the entire world will have to quickly accept the new reality.
Sergei Markov wrote:
In Ukraine there are these Ethnic groups in these proportions:
Now, who are the MAJORITY population?
Not the Russians!
And what about the slip/slide from implying Russians make up the majority of Ukrainian people to ” the Russian-speaking majority?”
Are Russian-speakers the majority in Ukraine?
No.
Languages in Ukraine:
Russian is a regional language spoken by a minority of Ukrainians. (Kind of like Spanish in the USA.)
Sergei Markov hangs a cool story on a pack of lies.
Sounds so realistic and sad for those majority (/sarcasm tag) of the people of Ukraine, you know, the Russian people.
Only problem is it is a false narrative.
@Nanny G: Excellent analysis. Amazing that some Americans use the false Russian justifications as their defense of Obama’s weakness.
yes this is a lot of propaganda,
it’s too evident that VLADIMIR PUTIN HAD PLAN IT A GOOD WHILE BEFORE,
and jump on it as soon as the opportunity arise by his own crimean people
asking for help
that is for help to own the UKRAINE LAND, THEY WHERE ALLOWED TO USE WITHOUT GIVING NOTHING TO UKRAINE, A BUNCH OF FREE LOADER, WHO SHOULD BE DEPORTED BACK TO RUSSIA,
I Am a Ukrainian
Kraken
i feel for them, they are being brutalize as we see the evidence more and more,
the solution I only see is to the RUSSIAN PEOPLE , if they cannot arrest him,
to execute their leader,
HE ASK FOR IT, IT”S ONE TO BE SACRIFICE AGAINST A WHOLE COUNTRY WHICH MANY OTHER WIL DIE,
ON THE HANDS OF THOSE HE SENT EXACTLY FOR IT,
VLADIMIR IS NOT WORTH , EVEN ONE OF THEM, EVEN LESS MANY OF THEM IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY,SEEKING PEACE, FOR THEIR CHILDREN, if not that,
RUSSIANS will also die, when it escalate taking in other countrys to help the UKRAINE INVADED BY ONE TYRAN, LIAR AND BRUTAL,
SOMEONE ELSE WILL DO THE JOB, IF THE RUSSIANS DON’T FIND THE COURAGE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT,
THEY TRY TO TALK HIM OUT, IT DIDN’T WORK,
LOOK AT IF THE GERMANS WOULD HAVE KILLED HITLER,
BEFORE HE KILLED SO MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE,
SO MUCH TIME WOULD HAVE BEEN SAVE FOR PEACE TO BE WITH THE PEOPLE, IT TOOK ONE FROM HELL TO KILL SO MANY,
AND PUTIN IS SHOWING THE SAME START, WHICH HE WON’T BE
STOPPING THERE, ONCE HE GET UKRAINE, HE WILL GO FOR ANOTHER COUNTY, AND SO ON AND SO ON,
HE CAME FROM HELL, SNEAKING IN LIKE A SNAKE,
LET HIM RETURN TO HELL BEFORE THE PEOPLE ARE KILLED,
SO VLADIMIR RETURN TO YOUR MOTHER RUSSIA AND APOLOGYSE TO UKRAINE, OR ELSE
VICTOR YANUKOVITCH, RAN AWAY TO RUSSIA WIT BILLIONS HE STOLE FROM THE UKRAINIANS,
IS THAT THE BILLIONS YOU ARE MENTIONING,
HE WAS CLEANING THE UKRAIIANS LIVING AS A VERY RICH MAN, WHILE THE PEOPLE WHERE POOR,
THE PEOPLE DECIDE TO DEPOSE HIM A HASBEEN PRESIDENT,
THEY HAD THE RIGHT TO DO IT, AND NAME ONE THEY TRUSTED, AND PUTIN SEND HIS THUGS IN UNKNOWN UNIFORM
UNMARK, LIKE A SNAKE,
IN A SOVEREIGN COUNTRY,UKRAINE AND CRIMEA BELONG TO UKRAINE,BUT CRIMEA ARE
RUSSIAN LOYALS, AND WHEN THE UKRAINIANS SAW THEIR TREATRISE OF ASKING RUSSIA FOR HELP THEY SAW CLEAR THAT THEY HAD ENNEMY IN THEIR CRIMEA WHICH THEY OWN, BUT THE RUSSIANS LIVING THERE WANT TO SEPARATE CRIMEA THEY DON’T OWN, AND LIVE IN IT AS RUSSIANS,
AND PUTIN DECIDE TO INVADE CRIMEA AND NOW UKRAINE, BY FORCE, WHAT A CREEP,
Apparently Putin is now viewed as being stronger than the President. Yep. The world sure has changed.
A day ago Russians in Crimea attacked Ukrainians in Crimea, killing one man, a 21 year old, and wounding many others.
The Russians flew Russia’s flag and out-flanked police who tried to stop the violence.
They flattened all four tires of rescue vehicles so they had more time to injure more people.
And the ”vote” only allows a Yes we want Russia to control Crimea Now or Later.
Yikes.
THE GERMAN CHANCELOR ANGELA MERKLE HAS DONE A GREAT SPEECH TO VLADIMIR PUTIN,
SHE WAS STRONG AND DETERMINE TO NOT LET HIM GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING,
SO FAR AS A CLOSE NEIGHBORD, SHE SHINE FOR THE GERMAN TO FEEL PROTECTED FROM PUTIN,
IT WAS IMPRESSING TO HEAR HER AND HER EYES TALK ALSO,
SHE PULVERIZE PUTIN, SHE SHOW TO BE A REAL LEADER,
VLADIMIR PUTIN IS A COWARD, HE TOOK ON A SMALL COUNTRY HAVING PROBLEM WITH THEIR RUSSIANS CITIZENS WHO TRY TO TAKE OVER THE CRIMEA OWN BY THE UKRAINIANS,
VLADIMIR PUTIN IS AFRAID TO TAKE HIS OWN SIZE COUNTRY, WHO WOULD HAVE MADE HIM
A CRUCH LEMON, AND HE THINK THAT SENDING THE THUGS IN A UNLABEL UNIFORM WILL HIDE HIS INTENT, HE IS A SCARE LEADER BY HIS ACTIONS, AND SHOULD BE PUNISH BY HIS OWN PEOPLE,
IF THEY HAVE THER PRIDE STILL ON,
nobody would like to have a coward FOR PRESIDENT sneaking on other smaller countrieswho have been robbed of billions, by the previous PRESIDENT PUT THERE BY PUTIN, which they sent back to RUSSIA,
telling PUTIN THEY DON’T WANT A THIEF from PUTIN TO GET RICH IN THEIR UKRAINE FOR RUSSIA,
there is no other solutions, the course of this conflict must be
eliminate at the head, otherwise we won’t forget and the whole
RUSSIA WILL BE BLAMED, FOR NOT HAVING DONE THEIR DUTY,
how about UKRAINE TELL ALL THE CRIMEA RUSSIANS TO GO BACK TO RUSSIA, CLEAR THE PLACE, IN SUCH TIME, 6 MONTHS
because they have decide to turn back the CRIMEA AS A NATURE LAND WILD AND NO HUMAN
TO LIVE THERE, ONLY THE HUMAN THEY WILL HIRE TO CARE FOR THE NATURE LAND TO BE WELL FUNCTIONNING AND GUARD THE LAND FROM ANY ONE FOREIGNER, TO TAKE HOLD IN IT AS RESIDENT, AND ANY GAS TUNNEL AND OIL TRANSPORTATION FROM RUSSIA, MUST GO,
THEY BRING ANIMALS TO BLEND TOGETHER AS AN ECOLOGY EXPERIMENT,
THE CRIMEA MUST BE PURGE OF HUMAN LIVES AND ACTIVITY FOR 100 YEARS,
AND CLEAN UP ALL WHAT HAS SERVED FOR HUMAN, HOUSES TOOLS ANYTHING RUSSIAN,
MUST GO OR BE DESTROYED,
AND CRIMEA WILL STILL BE PART OF UKRAINE FOREVER, AS IT IS
AND HAS BEEN SINCE LONG TIME AGO,
VLADIMIR, WIPE THAT SMILE OF YOUR FACE,
The world has changed.
Just another day in making the world love us again.
@Nanny G, #1:
Russians are the majority in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, however.
Crimea is going to cease to be part of Ukraine. It will either assert its status as a truly autonomous republic, or become part of Russia. The fact of the matter is that Ukraine no longer has much to say about it. The population of Crimea will make their decision, and Russia will back them up whichever way they go. From the preliminary election results it looks like they will probably throw in with Russia.
If the majority of the population in Crimea is Russian, and they vote to be part of Russia or to become autonomous as a separate nation in a fair election, then it really doesn’t seem like the US has any legitimate say in the matter.
There are times I wish Texas would hold a vote on autonomy….
Pete
VLADIMIR IS LIKE THE FROG INFLATED WHO KNOW SHE IS BIGGER THAN ANYONE,
AND THEN EXPLOSE in front of the other small frogs,
that’s VLADIMIR FUTURE,
AND THAT IDIOT JOURNALIST KISELYAR WHO SAID THAT THE RUSSIA CAN TURN US IN
RADIOACTIVE ASHES, HE FORGET THAT IT WORK BOTH WAY, HE COULD END UP HAVING ONE IN HIS ASS ONE MORNING,
Of course there are many Russian speaking people’s all over what was once the USSR, Greg.
It doesn’t mean anything.
35,000 citizens of the former USSR who were permanently resident in Ukraine were granted citizenship upon Ukraine’s independence in 1991, they could have stayed or gone to Russia, they chose to stay.
They chose the Crimean area.
Now they represent most of the 17% of population that considers itself ”Russian.”
Russia does NOT want these people…..it needs them!
Remember, Russia is a demographic basket case.
As it’s present rate Russia will not even be a majority Russian-speaking country in less than 40 years!
It has a negative population growth rate but it’s immigrants and Muslim populations are ballooning.
Russia also wants the industries and resources in Crimea.
All the more to control Europe.
If we had more oil and gas to export Russia would be in a world of hurt.
@Greg:
I just love those liberals thinking. Let me see, that is kinda like saying that in Florida, because the southern half of Florida is 51% Cuban: The fact of the matter is that the USA no longer has much to say about it, it’s all up to Cuba.
Don’t y’all just love that liberal logic? Or, Southern Cal is now 51% Mexican so Mexico is now in control and the USA no longer has much to say about it.
@Redteam, #17 :
I wasn’t stating a liberal position. I was making an observation concerning the reality of the situation.
Greg
but you where stating it like your liberal mindset,
NO MATTER WHAT HAPPEN THEY RUSSIAN FROM CRIMEA
think that because they have lived there a many years, that they own the place
and can ask RUSSIA TO SAVE THEM FROM THEIR TREASONOUS ACTIONS,
IT WON’T WORK AND THE RIGHT TIME WILL COME TO SEND THEM PACKING IN RUSSIA,
AS YOU KNOW THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING IN LIFE,
UKRAINE MIGHT BE DOWN TODAY, BUT THE FUTURE WILL BRING HELP FOR THEM TO RISE FROM THE HUMILIATION THEY ARE LIVING TODAY,
AND VLADIMIR PUTIN WILL END UP TO BE A RAG YOU STEP ON,
his punishment for daring to break the good order of PEACE
Nanny G
that is a very good info
thank you<
ZERO EDGE
for SERGEI MARKOV,
he is talking for RUSSIA, but we know better that it’S A REVERSE OPINION TO FIT HIS MINDSET,
NOBODY HERE WANT TO CONTROL UKRAINE,
IT’S UKRAINE WHO WANT OUT OF,
THE ADVANCING march of RUSSIA to impose their will to UKRAINE SOVEREIGN COUNTRY
WHICH INCLUDE CRIMEA,
how convenient of him to feed the russians with it,
they must know this is an invasion of a self right country, and the CRIMEA HAS DONE AN ILLEGAL VOTE
TO TAKE OVER CRIMEA, THEY ARE TRAITORS TO VOTE FOR IT ,
IS THE HEIGHT OF ARROGANCE OVER UKRAINE,
THAT IS THE REALL STORY, SHAME ON HIM TO TURN IT OUT TO FIT HIS VIEWS,
@Greg:
Yes. Apparently Crimeans voted 97% in favor of joining Russia. Thankfully they had the help of Russian occupiers to help facilitate their plebiscite. One wonders if they stole a page from the Democratic play book, and bussed Russian activists into Crimea.
In other news, President Kim Jong-un was recently reelected with 100% of the vote.
Kraken
yes they sign what the thugs told them to do or else,
PUTIN won”t get away with it, SOME DAY,
Sanctions working as expected.
@Greg:
@Kraken, #24 :
The title of the article you linked to: Ukrainian government refuses to remove troops from Crimea, prepares for war.
If Ukraine’s revolutionary government is seriously contemplating going to war with Russia, I can understand why 97% of Crimean voters might want to break ties with these idiots as expeditiously as possible. Maybe Ukrainian leaders should just put pistols to their heads and pull the triggers, to spare their country and people the consequences of their own stupidity and pride. Russia has them militarily outclassed on every level. Ukraine would be fighting to retain a region that doesn’t want to be retained.
@Greg:
All signs point to yes.
Yes. So can I.
yes i can also, those 97 % are the traitors and they might be hang,
for having commit treason on UKRAINE,
@Greg: “If Ukraine’s revolutionary government is seriously contemplating going to war with Russia, I can understand why 97% of Crimean voters might want to break ties with these idiots as expeditiously as possible. Maybe Ukrainian leaders should just put pistols to their heads and pull the triggers, to spare their country and people the consequences of their own stupidity and pride.” Certainly with the determination we see in the region and here to oppose aggression, yeah, they might as well. I suppose we all might as well, right? After all, we don’t want anyone to think we’re mean.
This should explain the entire situation.
So it begins.
@Greg:
That the Collective regards foreign policy as a game of RISK, or that the Russian Empire in all its manifestations is a belligerent bully?
Remember when the Obama Administration decided to abandon Missile Defense Shield plans for Poland?
Not to worry. Good ol’ Vice President Biden is on the job reassuring the Polish.
Paying close attention to Poland on the map that Greg links to above coupled with Vice President Biden’s legendary competency levels, one can only imagine how the Polish must feel right about now.
Crimea referendum a ‘great farce,’ says Ukraine president
Ukraine PM: Conflict with Russia entering ‘military stage’
Ukrainian soldier killed in Crimea
Putin: “Kiev is the mother of all Russian cities…. We won’t be able to live without each other.”
@Kraken:
About Kiev and Ukraine, Putin doesn’t want all the non-Russians in Ukraine.
To avoid them he would have to do what China is doing to the Ueghars in Western China…..genocide and/or diffusion through forced marriages outside their ethnicity.
Putin’s Russia has one of the lowest birth rates in all ethno-European countries.
It is quite literally committing suicide.
Only its immigrant and non-Russian people are breeding anymore.
Putin hates this.
He wants more ethnic Russians and will wither massacre the non-Russians or try to destroy their ethnicity by forced marriage, too.
Who hasn’t seen this writing on the wall?
how long ago did Mark Steyn write his book America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It about Europeans and demography being destiny?
Did everyone think each country and leader would act the same?
Why should they?
Putin is logically trying to stave off the reality of demographic death of his culture and people a little while longer.
The sad fact is, all this and it won’t work anyway.
Putin’s annexation idea is just a stopgap.
For this he risks war?
Ukrainian Government Preparing Defenses In Anticipation Of A Russian Invasion
Right about now, it would be helpful to be able to make a threat of military force and give someone pause. Sadly, we will make a threat and then, most assuredly, we will have to follow it up with force (provided anyone in the White House can get their nuts out of their wives’ purses for temporary use).
We can either be liked (which we aren’t anyway) or we can be feared and respected (which, on occasion, we have been. Libya had figured it out, anyway). Like a dedicated parent, we have to do what we have to do in order to protect our security and interests.
Threatening to involve the United States in a military confrontation with Russia over Crimea would be totally insane. Fortunately we don’t have an insane man in the White House.
If Ukraine compounds it’s first blunder, which cost them Crimea, by committing a second blunder and provoking Russia with a military response, it won’t be our doing, nor will it be our nation’s responsibility to back them up.
@Greg:
Meanwhile, while Obama announces that he is placing sanctions on 7 Russians, the Russians take to Twitter and mock him.
My God, Greggie, how inept does that man (Obama) have to be before you realize the silk purse you thought you were getting is a sow’s ear?
Never before in the history of this nation have the Russians felt so cocky that their officials would public mock our president. So much for that increased foreign “respect” (a word Obama can’t spell) that The Won was going to bring to our nation.
@Bill Burris:
Russian politicians are openly mocking the President on Twitter. They would never believe his threats.
@Greg:
This is incorrect.
Perhaps.
@retire05, #40 :
What I would call “inept” was the neocon ambition to push westernized former Soviet republics right up to the Russian border, and squarely into Vladimir Putin’s face. What that seems to have achieved is a newly extended Russian border.
Want to encourage Ukraine to respond militarily? You’ll either get a new newly extended Russian border, or a spreading war in Europe that might leave China in control of whatever global economy is left.
I vote to let Crimea join with Russia—since they already seem to have voted that way themselves. Ukraine can get its own house in order. Maybe they can have the closer ties with the West that they wanted, now that Russia’s warm-water port is secured. I wouldn’t give them a nickel’s worth of military aid. That’s just asking for trouble. We should encourage a nice, friendly buffer state.
GREG
WAR is insane, and VLADIMIR PUTIN IS the one who started it must be eliminated, ANY WAY THIS CAN BE DONE,
BY WHOEVER SEE THE INSANITY PERSIST, FROM WHATEVER SIDES IT WOULD COME.
THE ONE WHO WOULD SUCCEED WOULD BECOME SUPER RICH,
WHOEVER IT IS AND HOWEVER IT WOULD BE DONE, FROM WHERE EVER IT WOULD COME FROM,
THE MONEY WOULD RAIN ON HIM, AND FROM,
THE WORLD WIDE, WEB, OR THE WORLD WIDE DIRECTION, OF
MOVING THAT WEALTH, DIRECTLY TO THE BRAVE, WHO WOULD BE SAVING THE WORLD’S MANY LIVES WHO ARE PREPARE TO PAY THE PRICE FOR LIFE,
@Greg:
WTH are you blathering about? How did the U.S. push the Crimea right up to the Russian border? I know history is not your forte, but geesh, Greggie, stop making yourself look like the idiot you are. Do you even know why 58% of the population of Crimea are ethnic Russians?
Do you really think Putin is going to be satisfied with taking Crimea? No, he’s not and he knows that he has no problems with the Pajama Boy in the Oval Office.
So what happened to all that “increased” respect that Obama was going to garner from foreign nations? Putin realizes that he is dealing with the 21st century Chamberlain.
@Greg: #39 You miss the point, as it seems every liberal does every time. The trick is NOT to have to get militarily involved. Wouldn’t that be preferable? So, we must appear strong. To appear strong and resolute, sometimes we have to BE strong and resolute. Whatever you think of the Iraq war, the facts are these: we perceived a WMD threat to the United States from Iraq possession of WMD’s and the presence of terror groups within Iraq. Bush followed all the proper steps; he addressed our concerns to the UN, who agreed and authorized incremental steps, up to and including force. He addressed Congress and got buy-in. He made his threats. He followed the process. He made the world realize that when the United States tells you to stop being a threat to us and/or others, it is a good idea to cease and desist. Libya understood.
Hussein, however, used to 8 years of a President the blew holes in the desert in response to threats to our security didn’t take the threats seriously. How events could have been different had he.
So, here we are. After expending trillions in treasure and thousands of lives, this administration and the vast majority of the left have made it national policy to reject strength, power and resolve. While we could be living in a much more secure world where aggressors would think twice about drawing a disturbing glare from the American eagle, we instead live in a world where every empire-hungry despot wants to earn their cred by backing down the power of the United States. It’s just a matter of time before we have to, again, take action. And action costs lives.
We won’t fight over Crimea. We won’t even fight when Putin occupies all of Ukraine. But, that will be the last straw. By then, we will have a more perceptive President in office, one who is familiar with history and historical implications. We will probably fight when Poland is (again) overrun. Or Romania, or Taiwan or South Korea or Israel. Then we will HAVE to fight, and it won’t be pretty.
And it could all be avoided.
#42 If you think even for a moment that Putin needs a provocation to invade and overrun Ukraine, you are delusional. Did he require a valid provocation to annex Crimea? All he needed was the opportunity.
Ukraine’s Soldiers In Crimea Allowed To Use Weapons
Russia Is Preparing to Invade East Ukraine, Estonia Says
Russian troops poised for invasion of eastern Ukraine, despite denials
Residents Of Eastern Ukraine Warn Of Guerrilla War If Russia Invades
WILL RUSSIA USE �LAWFARE� TO PAVE THE WAY FOR AN INVASION OF EASTERN UKRAINE?
East Ukraine aflame with Russians poised to strike
Is this proof Russia is about to invade?
EAST UKRAINE GOVERNOR: ‘WE WILL DEFEND OURSELVES’ AGAINST RUSSIA
Russian Troops Mass at Border With Ukraine
@Bill Burris, #45 :
I don’t see things that way. I’m afraid what expending trillions on Iraq has accomplished is the removal of Iran’s primary security concern, running up so much debt that that we’d be hard-pressed to finance another large-scale defense effort, and making the country so war weary that we may not have the will to respond on some future occasion when we really should—Crimea not being one of those occasions, in my opinion.
Yes, he did. All it took was an indication that an unpredictable revolutionary government in Ukraine might pose a risk to Russia’s only access to a year-round, warm water port. Perhaps the revolutionary government’s signals were only a bit of ill-considered bluster and bravado, but Putin took it with dead seriousness. He couldn’t afford not to. He couldn’t wait for Ukraine to begin entertaining thoughts of defense pacts with Western nations. There was too much to lose. It’s a pretty good indication of the current Ukrainian government’s state of disarray that they couldn’t figure out how Russia would likely react.
@Greg:
Just an “indication” of a future action, Greggie? Really? How come you don’t mention the contracts the energy rich nation of Urkraine made last year with U.S. oil companies? You think the fact that Russia is a main supplier of energy to places like France didn’t play a part in Russia’s aggression? You really think Putin is going to stop with Crimea? My God, you’re so brain washed that you deserve nothing but sympathy.
And perhaps the moon really is made of cheese. And perhaps Obama will really grow a set and act like a true leader. And perhaps he will really keep his promise of being the most transparent administration in our history.
Face it; you don’t have a clue and now you have resorted to defending Putin. Sad.
Obama to Putin: U.S. will never recognize Crimea vote