Yes. There is one way that maybe, possibly, one could say that the US poked the bear because Obama joined with the other members to kick Putin out of the G8 because of his annexation of Crimea.
I think not to kick out Putin would have been a show of bad faith in support of the peaceful interactions among democracies. The G-9 was an anachronism from the Partnership for Peace in the 1990s.
Please say in what way the US "poked the bear."
The U.S. did not. Presidents Bush and Clinton tried to establish the partnership for peace. Russia broke the good faith.
https://www.ukrainer.net/russian-wars/ (leaves out meddling in Ukraine and Georgia)
Yes. There is one way that maybe, possibly, one could say that the US poked the bear because Obama joined with the other members to kick Putin out of the G8 because of his annexation of Crimea.
I think not to kick out Putin would have been a show of bad faith in support of the peaceful interactions among democracies. The G-9 was an anachronism from the Partnership for Peace in the 1990s.