Is anyone else getting the feeling that Vladimir Putin doesn’t care about international economic sanctions?  In a televised speech heavy with history, Putin declared that Crimea has “always been an integral part of Russia” and then signed a treaty to annex the Ukrainian Black Sea region.

Acknowledging that the west is not going to like it, Putin asked Russians, “we have to decide for ourselves, are we to protect our national interest or just carry on giving them away forever?”

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said that Russia would likely be suspended from the G8; UK Prime Minister David Cameron warned of “further measures” against Russia on top of yesterday’s round of economic sanctions; US Vice President Joe Biden accused Russia of a “blatant violation of international law” in Crimea with its “brazen military incursion.”  Biden met with Poland’s PM in Warsaw and plans more meetings in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia – Baltic states that are glad to be free of Russian domination.

But Putin claims international law is on his side, citing Kosovo’s independence bid from Serbia – which was supported by the West and opposed by Russia – and Ukraine’s own secession from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991.