Friday, March 07, 2014

US and EU Impose Sanctions and Warn Russia to Relent in Ukraine Standoff


THE GUARDIAN: • Pair issue grave warning to Moscow to pull back from Crimea
• Crimean parliament votes to secede from Ukraine
• Obama tells Putin: sanctions for ‘violation of sovereignty’

Barack Obama and his EU allies unveiled a co-ordinated set of sanctions on Thursday to punish Russia for occupying the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, imposing visa restrictions on individuals and sharpening rhetoric in what has rapidly degenerated into the worst east-west crisis since the end of the cold war.

President Obama spoke for an hour on Thursday afternoon with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. According the White House, the US president told Putin that newly-announced sanctions, introduced in co-ordination with the UK, were a response to Russia’s “violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

“President Obama indicated that there is a way to resolve the situation diplomatically, which addresses the interests of Russia, the people of Ukraine, and the international community.” the White House said in a statement to reporters. » | Dan Roberts in Washington and Ian Traynor in Brussels | Thursday, March 06, 2014