The U.S. response may still seem to be only half a loaf, but includes an appetizing sweetener – verification.

Washington's "non-paper" response directly addresses Putin's chief concern. (Spoiler for any new readers of antiwar.com: It is not what you are probably thinking; it is not Putin's reportedly insatiable lust to get NATO to sign a piece of paper banning membership for Ukraine; that's the other half-loaf, and it has become rather stale – as well as moot.)

Rather, Putin's primary worry has long been that missile launchers now deployed in Romania and soon, if not already, in Poland (ostensibly for anti-missile defense) can accommodate Tomahawk cruise missiles with ranges that put Russia's strategic forces in jeopardy. Putin has voiced that concern loudly for years.

For example, after the US-orchestrated coup in Kiev in Feb. 2014, Putin explained publicly that US/NATO plans to deploy ABM systems around Russia's western periphery were an "even more important factor" in Moscow's decision to annex Crimea than the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO. (For one particularly telling example, readers are invited to view a short clip showing Putin's frustration six years ago at his inability to impress upon Western reporters the urgency of the "ABM" missile emplacements.)

At Tuesday's press conference, Putin began with a reminder that Russia had been "conned" when the West promised in 1990 not to move NATO one inch eastward. Putin then pointed out that, after the US withdrew from the AMB Treaty:

"Now anti-ballistic missiles are deployed in Romania and are being set up in Poland. … These are MK-41 launchers that can launch Tomahawks. In other words, they are no longer just counter-missiles, and these assault weapons can cover thousands of kilometers of our territory. Isn't that a threat to us?"