U.S. Says Crimea Referendum Violates Int'l Law, Issues Visa Bans as Lavrov-Kerry Talks Fail
Stepping up pressure on Russia, the United States on Thursday slapped visa bans on those Russians and Ukrainians it blames for destabilizing Ukraine and set the stage for more sanctions.
The White House said President Barack Obama was ordering visa bans "in response to Russia's ongoing violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
In an executive order, Obama also authorized freezing the assets of officials and individuals involved in such action.
"This should send a strong message that we intend to impose costs on Russia for this intervention. It also gives us flexibility, however, to respond in the coming days based on Russia's continued actions," a senior U.S. administration official said.
"We already have grave concerns over the intervention in Crimea, the situation of course could escalate further if we see actions into eastern Ukraine," the official warned, speaking on condition of anonymity.
But U.S. officials stressed that, despite the deployment of Russian troops into Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula, Washington had not yet seen any military moves into mainland eastern Ukraine.
Russian forces took de facto control of the strategically important Crimea, home to Kremlin's Black Sea Fleet, following the ouster on February 22 of Ukraine's pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych.
"This (executive order) is a flexible tool that will allow us to sanction those who are most directly involved in destabilizing Ukraine, including the military intervention in Crimea, and does not preclude further steps should the situation deteriorate," the administration said.
Senior U.S. officials said they were just beginning the process of looking at who would be targeted by the visa bans, but warned they would include both Ukrainians and Russians.
Later on Thursday, Obama warned that "the proposed referendum on the future of Crimea would violate the Ukrainian constitution and violate international law."
"Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine," Obama told reporters at the White House.
Earlier, the parliament in Crimea, under the de facto control of pro-Russian forces since the ousting of Yanukovych, asked Putin to examine a request for their region to join the Russian Federation.
"In 2014, we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders," the U.S. president said.
Obama also said, on a day that the European Union also readied sanctions against Russia, that the world was united in its opposition to Russia's action and in its support for Ukraine.
But he also argued there remained a way out for Russia, as talks continue between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Europe.
Such a deal would see the world support elections in Ukraine in May, to allow international monitors into Ukraine and for Russian forces to keep their Black Sea bases, he said.
"But if this violation of international law continues, the resolve of the United States and our allies and the international community will remain firm," Obama said.
Earlier on Thursday, Kerry held a second round of talks in two days with his Russian counterpart Lavrov in a bid to de-escalate the tensions.
But Lavrov told Russian news agencies after the talks in Rome that so far "we cannot report to the international community that we are in agreement,” adding that he would inform President Vladimir Putin about the talks on his return.
"We agreed that we will study further those thoughts that John Kerry gave me today about concrete prospective steps," Lavrov said, according to Interfax news agency.
"We want to clarify more deeply what our partners mean when they suggest some kind of international mechanism, what its content would be," he added.
Lavrov strongly criticized U.S. visa restrictions imposed against Russians and Ukrainians it blames for the current crisis, saying they were "a threat".
He warned of a "constant building of pressure in the atmosphere", but said Kerry had told him the visa restrictions had not yet been implemented.
The top Russian diplomat also criticized NATO's announcement on Wednesday that it was reviewing its cooperation with Russia including the suspension of a joint mission to destroy Syrian chemical weapons.
"We need these structures no more than our partners do," Lavrov said.
He added that the international community "has a very strong interest in normal dialogue going on between the West and Russia, without attempts at ultimatums, without attempts to demand that we unilaterally change our position, which in the case of Ukraine our president put in detail and extremely clearly."
Russia's position "has wide understanding in the world," he added.
Later on Thursday, Kerry insisted that "Crimea is Ukraine."
"Crimea is part of the Ukraine. Crimea is Ukraine. And we support the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the government of Ukraine needs to be involved in any decision" on whether the peninsula would split off, he told journalists in Rome.
"It's my understanding that the constitution of Ukraine requires an all-Ukraine referendum. Every part of Ukraine, all Ukrainians, would have to be part of a referendum," he said.
However, Kerry said the United States' priority was to "continue the intense discussions with both sides in order to try to normalize and end this crisis".
Though the United States would "keep faith" with sanctions already put in place -- such as visa bans and the freezing of assets belonging to those deemed to have played a part in destabilizing Ukraine -- the emphasis in "the next few hours and days" was for dialogue that could lead to a de-escalation of the situation.
"While we reserve the right to take steps beyond those things that were announced today, we want President Putin and Russia and everyone to understand our preference is to get back to a normality," he said.
Lavrov had said in a briefing late Wednesday that he and Kerry had agreed on the need to return to the February 21 deal agreed by Ukrainian protesters and Yanukovych before his ouster.
But U.S. officials denied that this had been agreed, insisting that such a deal could be reached only with the involvement of the pro-Western Ukraine government that has replaced Yanukovych's pro-Kremlin administration.
Angered by the show of Russian might, Washington has already pulled out of preparatory meetings for the G8 summit in Sochi.
Other steps include suspending bilateral discussions on trade and investment, the White House said.
U.S. officials also denounced any move to split Crimea from Ukraine without involving the new interim authorities in Kiev.
Pro-Moscow officials on the Crimean peninsula announced on Thursday that hey would hold a referendum on March 17 on whether to join the Russian Federation.
The White House again called on Russia "to take the opportunity before it to resolve this crisis through direct and immediate dialogue with the government of Ukraine."
It also urged the "immediate pull-back of Russia's military forces to their bases, the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and support for the urgent deployment of international observers."
Source: Agence France Presse
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