[hondje]

I feel like you're right, but there has to be more in it for Russia. Obama gets "good" PR and silences Snowden - the best possible outcome. I don't see Putin settling for just good publicity. If Putin played hardball here he would still gain massively with South America and still get the benefits you mentioned

[znowi]

Putin can't afford to play hardball. Despite his macho exterior in the media, he knows that the US has leverage economically and elsewhere.