Obama: US Examining Steps to 'Isolate Russia'
by VOA News March 03, 2014
President Obama has condemned Russia saying it is on 'the wrong side of history' for mobilizing forces around Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. His comments came as Russia moved troops into Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula by ferry.
Obama told reporters Monday that the United States is considering a series of economic and diplomatic steps 'that will isolate Russia.'
'I think the world is largely united in recognizing that the steps Russia has taken are a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, Ukraine's territorial integrity, that there a violation of international law. There's a violation of previous agreements that Russia has made with respect to how it treats and respects its neighbors, and as a consequence we got strong statements from NATO, from the G7, condemning the actions that Russia has taken,' he said.
Obama called on the U.S. Congress to work on an aid package to assist Ukraine.
Russia moved troops into Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula by ferry, after Russian soldiers on Monday seized a border post on the Ukrainian side of a waterway separating the two countries.
Washington's United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power confirmed the troop movement Monday at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York. Earlier Monday, Reuters news agency quoted Ukraine border guards as saying they had seen Russia assembling an armored column on its side of the Kerch Strait.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin used the Council session to read a statement from Ukraine's ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled Kyiv for Russia last week after weeks of anti-government protests.
Churkin said Yanukovych has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene militarily in Ukraine to establish 'peace' and 'stability' in his homeland. For his part, Mr. Putin insists Moscow has the right to intervene in Ukraine to protect Russian citizens.
Earlier Monday, the U.S. State Department said Washington is preparing to impose sanctions on Moscow. Spokeswoman Jen Psaki did not elaborate.
European Union Council President Herman Van Rompuy said EU leaders will hold an extraordinary meeting on the Ukraine crisis Thursday in Brussels.
Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to Ukraine in an effort to defuse the crisis between Kyiv and Moscow.
During a joint press conference Monday in Washington with visiting Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, Kerry said Russia has used its influence to apply pressure on Ukraine similar to tactics used in Moldova.
'Russia, in some of the challenges we are seeing right now in Ukraine, has put pressure on Moldova. There are challenges with respect to their energy sources and also their ability to trade,' said Kerry.
Russian markets plunge
Russia paid a heavy financial price on Monday for its military intervention in neighboring Ukraine, with stocks, bonds and the ruble plunging as President Vladimir Putin's forces tightened their grip on the predominantly Russian-speaking Crimea region.
The Moscow stock market fell by 11.3 percent, wiping nearly $60 billion off the value of Russian companies in a day, and the central bank spent $10 billion of its reserves to prop up the ruble as investors took fright at escalating tensions with the West over the former Soviet republic.
In his first public appearance for nearly a week, Putin flew to watch military maneuvers in western Russia in what appeared designed as a show of strength.
Russia's Black Sea fleet denied reports that it had given Ukrainian forces in Crimea an ultimatum to surrender by early on Tuesday or face a military assault, Interfax news agency said after earlier reporting such a threat.
UN, EU call for restraint
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Russian and Ukrainian authorities to de-escalate tensions and engage constructively in finding a resolution to the crisis in Ukraine. The secretary-general and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were due to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the U.N. Human Rights Council, which opened in Geneva on Monday.
Ban told journalists in Geneva he was working on different fronts to try to find a resolution to this crisis.
He said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to address the crisis by engaging in constructive talks directly with the Ukrainian authorities.
Ban said it was critical to ensure full respect for and the preservation of Ukraine's independence, unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Separately, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has called on Russia to withdraw its troops to their bases and hold consultations with Ukraine.
McCain blasts Putin
Meanwhile, drawing parallels between the Middle East conflict and the latest tensions surrounding Ukraine, U.S. Senator John McCain took issue with Russia's actions in Crimea.
Speaking on Monday before the the American Israel Public Affairs Committee he said that 'Crimea is a sovereign part of a sovereign nation of Ukraine.' He emphasized that the people of Ukraine, by the hundreds of thousands, stood in a square in sub-freezing weather, saying that 'they did not want to be part of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's Russia.'
McCain said that the Russian leader was only waiting for the Olympics in Sochi to be over to proceed with the 'occupation of Crimea.'
'This is a blatant act on the part of Vladimir Putin and one that must be unacceptable to the world community. It cannot stand. And I have to be very honest with you – there is a not a military option that can be exercised now but the most powerful and biggest and strongest nation in the world should have plenty of [other] options,' said McCain.
Russia chides West, justifies incursion
Moscow on Monday sharply criticized Western members of the Group of Eight major industrialized nations for suspending preparations for a G8 summit scheduled to be held in the Russian city of Sochi in June over the crisis in Ukraine.
The decision to suspend preparatory work for the summit in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi "has no grounds" and "damages not only the countries of the Group of Eight but also the whole international community," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russia's foreign minister defended the increasing presence of his country's troops in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.
Sergei Lavrov said Monday that the use of Russian troops in Crimea is necessary 'until the normalization of the political situation' in Crimea. Speaking at the opening of the U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva, he said his country's troops are protecting Russian nationals.
Growing troop presence
Ukraine's acting president said on Monday Russia's military presence was growing in the Crimea region and urged Moscow to halt what he called aggression and piracy.
Oleksandr Turchynov said the situation was "difficult" in some regions in the south and east of the country, where there are many Russian speakers, but that the Ukrainian authorities had matters there under control.
He also said Russia's Black Sea Fleet had trapped Ukrainian navy vessels in the bays of Sevastopol, the Crimean port where the Russian fleet has a base.
"The situation in Crimea remains tense and Russia's military presence is growing," Turchynov told a news briefing. "I appeal to Russia's leadership - stop the provocative actions, aggression and piracy. This is a crime and you will answer for it."
VOA's Lisa Schlein contributed to this report from Geneva. Some reporting by RFE/RL, Reuters
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
