Is Putin satisfied with Crimea?

A former U.S. ambassador to Russia said Sunday that President Vladimir Putin would not be satisfied by absorbing Crimea, and would have the upper hand in negotiations dealing with pro-Russian parts of Moldova.

{mosads}“He’s a revisionist power now. Things that were settled 20 years ago, or at least in ice, in these conflicts – he’s now trying to say that we have to open up the Pandora’s box,” former ambassador Michael McFaul said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“He’s going to make it an issue that we’re going to now have to negotiate, and we’re going to negotiate, I think, in a weak position, given where he is right now,” he added. 

Still, McFaul said that he thought that the specter of violence could keep Putin from seeking further inroads into Ukraine.

“The biggest cost of course, though, is violence,” McFaul said.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that if Russia goes into eastern Ukraine, some Ukrainians will fight in a guerilla struggle,” McFaul added. “That’s first and foremost on his mind, and I don’t see it happening any time soon.”