Putin: Great Visionary or Just Lost

[Richard Coleman]

"His move into Syria was IMO made out of a deal with the US in which he gives something up like the DLPR by enforcing Minsk II regardless of what Ukraine does. "

Sorry, you lost me. Putin's "move" in Syria is part of a deal with the US? I'm not caught up on the intricacies of the Ukraine crisis etc., so your complicated sentence (Syria, deal with US, giving up DLPR, Minsk II, Ukraine) baffles me. What deal?

Maybe you could straighten me out. What does "giving up the DLPR" mean (or "something like it")? What might Ukraine do that would mess up this "deal" with the US?

Did the "deal" include NATO member and US ally shooting down a Russian plane carrying out anti-terrorist operations?