But hypocrisy isn’t brilliant diplomacy.

“Since Russia’s move to annex the Ukrainian region of Crimea in March, the Obama administration has also accused Putin of acting according to terms of a different century.

‘You just don’t, in the 21st century, behave in 19th-century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped-up pretext,’ U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in early March.”

Right. You need some important reason, say like weapons of mass destruction.