Kerry: US, EU will respond to Crimea referendum
Iran Press TV
Thu Mar 13, 2014 6:30PM GMT
The US Secretary of State John Kerry once again threatens Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, saying the US and EU would take a 'serious series of steps' if a referendum on Ukraine's Crimea region passes on Sunday.
In a Monday congressional hearing, Kerry said he is hoping to avoid such steps through the upcoming discussions with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in London on Friday.
'If there is no sign of any capacity to be able to move forward and resolve this issue there will be a very serious series of steps in Europe and here with respect to the options that are available to us,' Kerry said in testimony on the State Department's 2015 budget request.
Kerry urged Russia to abandon the proposed referendum on annexing Crimea, which would "close any available space for diplomacy".
Kerry went on to say that Russia cannot rule all of Ukraine because it does not have enough resources for that.
He also speculated that there are over 20,000 Russian troops in Crimea now.
Kerry and Lavrov discussed proposals for resolving the crisis during a phone conversation on Thursday, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The two top US and Russian diplomats discussed 'the situation in Ukraine, taking into account existing Russian and US proposals to normalize the atmosphere and provide for civil peace,'' the ministry said.
AN/DT
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