Putin is not fooling anybody: Obama

US President Barack Obama yesterday said that President Vladimir Putin's rationale for his incursion into Crimea was not "fooling anybody" and said Russian "meddling" would push states away from Moscow.
But Obama also noted what he said were "reports" that Putin, who earlier gave a press conference, was pausing for a moment to reflect on his options over the crisis.
Obama said the European Union and allies like Canada and Japan all believed Russia violated international law.
"President Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers, maybe a different set of interpretations. But I do not think that is fooling anybody," Obama said, at a school in Washington DC.
On Monday night, Obama said that Russia was “on the wrong side of history” with its incursion into the Crimean peninsula and said he was considering economic and diplomatic options to punish it if it didn't reverse course quickly.
The United States has suspended all military engagements with Russia, including exercises and port visits, in response to Moscow sending troops into Crimea.
The announcement from the Pentagon came on Monday night. The United States also put trade and investment talks with Russia on hold.
The decision does not sever all ties and top-level dialogue could continue, leaving open the channels between the defence secretaries .
US officials have played down any possibility of military action that would risk escalating the situation.