Is Crimea Gone?

Is Crimea Gone? Annexation No Longer The Focus Of Ukraine Crisis -- Tom Cohen, CNN

Washington (CNN) -- In diplomacy, like in sales, success often depends on making your adversaries believe they proposed the result you wanted.

By that measure, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have closed the sale on annexing Crimea from Ukraine.

On Monday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited the region that Moscow now claims over international protests, while Russia also said it was withdrawing a battalion of infantry troops from the tens of thousands deployed near the border with eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts focus on defusing the immediate threat of armed conflict and setting up a negotiating process, rather than necessarily reversing the Crimean annexation.

Here are some questions and answers on how we got here and what to expect:

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My Comment: Crimea is now a part of Russia .... in the eyes of Crimeans and Russians .... this annexation is a "fait-accompli". Much of the international community have an opposite of view .... but I suspect that this position will change over time. As for what is the sentiment within Ukraine itself .... Ukrainians are outraged (but resigned to what is happened) .... but many Russians in the eastern part of Ukraine are now hoping that they are next .... but I sincerely have doubts that this will happen.