Rep. Rogers: Putin Has ‘Set the Table to His Advantage in Any Negotiation’

Rep. Rogers: Putin Has 'Set the Table to His Advantage in Any Negotiation' (RealClearPolitics)

BOB SCHIEFFER: You said a couple of weeks ago that Russian President Putin was playing chess and we're playing marbles. Do you think he's won this round?

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R-MI): Well, clearly he has set the table to his advantage in any negotiation going forward. Clearly that's happened. The fact that we've had a little bit of fraying in our European relationships diplomatically has caused us some real difficulties. So, if you're asking me do I think he had the advantage going into this? Yes, I do, which worries me about what was offered up in that phone call. What kind of concessions did the United States offer? Did we have a relationship with the EU that would allow us to make those concessions, and what are the next few steps? We're going to have to learn that in the next few days. But if you look at how this has played out, clearly Putin has had the upper hand in this even though he risks huge economic problems, his popularity domestically has soared, and he doesn't have a lot of great economic issues going on at home. So, without this, his popularity is lower. All of those dynamics in Putin's mind mean that he's ahead as he would walk into any negotiation with Kiev, and we're playing catch up.