As always, I enjoy Mr Crooke's interviews and insights. I will take exception to a comment he made regarding "land swaps." Although President Putin stated some time back if Russians boots are on the ground, the ground is Russian, that obviously isn't a fact of life. Thus it could very well be that President Putin did say a land swap - the remaining parts of the Oblasts still occupied by Ukraine for the land occupied by the Russian Army in Kharkiv and Sumy, or any other part of Ukraine that the Russian Army occupies that has not been accepted into Russia. It could very well be that he is offering the "buffer zone" being established as the land being swapped. In other words, there IS land to be swapped that is not already Constitutionally part of Russia. It amazes me how everyone overlooks that fact.
As always, I enjoy Mr Crooke's interviews and insights. I will take exception to a comment he made regarding "land swaps." Although President Putin stated some time back if Russians boots are on the ground, the ground is Russian, that obviously isn't a fact of life. Thus it could very well be that President Putin did say a land swap - the remaining parts of the Oblasts still occupied by Ukraine for the land occupied by the Russian Army in Kharkiv and Sumy, or any other part of Ukraine that the Russian Army occupies that has not been accepted into Russia. It could very well be that he is offering the "buffer zone" being established as the land being swapped. In other words, there IS land to be swapped that is not already Constitutionally part of Russia. It amazes me how everyone overlooks that fact.