US PRESIDENt Barack Obama has threatened fresh sanctions against Moscow if it escalated the crisis over Ukraine, as pro-Russia separatists faced a deadline yesterday from Kiev to lay down their arms.
Obama stressed that the US, European Union and other global partners must “be prepared to meet further Russian escalation with additional sanctions”, the White House said after Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone on Thursday.
The US also delivered the warning to Russia at World Bank-International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, amid worries that a spiralling Ukraine crisis could hurt the world economy.
Ukraine’s embattled leaders, scrambling to hold their splintered country together after the annexation of Crimea, on Thursday offered amnesty to pro-Russian separatists occupying eastern state buildings if they laid down their arms and halted a four-day siege.
The olive branch came as the clock ticked down to yesterday’s deadline set by Ukraine to resolve the tense situation in the east.
Armed assailants who stormed the state security building in Lugansk and the seat of government in nearby Donetsk want to hold independence referendums like the one that led to Crimea’s takeover by Russia last month.
Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, in power since pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February, told lawmakers that Ukraine’s latest secessionist crisis could be resolved peacefully.
“If people lay down their arms and free the administration buildings ... we guarantee that we will not launch any criminal proceedings against them,” he promised.
But the separatists dug in on Thursday, fortifying their barricades with razor wire, sand bags and old tyres that could be set on fire in case of a police assault.
The Donetsk separatists earlier proclaimed the creation of their own “people’s republic” and called on Putin to order Russian troops into Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.
In a further escalation of the crisis, Russia warned Europe on Thursday that its gas supplies would be in peril unless it helped to pay off Ukrainian debts.
President Vladimir Putin’s most direct warning about Russian gas deliveries – vital to the health of the European economy – came as relations between Moscow and the West reached new post-Cold War lows.
The war of words over the ex-Soviet country adds extra urgency to the first round of direct talks that EU and US diplomats have convinced both Russia and Ukraine to attend, set for April 17 in either Geneva or Vienna.
On Thursday, Nato released 19 satellite pictures showing that up to 40000 Russian troops armed with tanks and military vehicles have set up camp just east of Ukraine’s border. “It’s a concern because it represents a real threat for Ukraine,” said Brigadier Gary Deakin, director of Nato’s comprehensive crisis operations centre. — AFP
US fresh sanctions threat
Obama stressed that the US, European Union and other global partners must “be prepared to meet further Russian escalation with additional sanctions”, the White House said after Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by phone on Thursday.
The US also delivered the warning to Russia at World Bank-International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, amid worries that a spiralling Ukraine crisis could hurt the world economy.
Ukraine’s embattled leaders, scrambling to hold their splintered country together after the annexation of Crimea, on Thursday offered amnesty to pro-Russian separatists occupying eastern state buildings if they laid down their arms and halted a four-day siege.
The olive branch came as the clock ticked down to yesterday’s deadline set by Ukraine to resolve the tense situation in the east.
Armed assailants who stormed the state security building in Lugansk and the seat of government in nearby Donetsk want to hold independence referendums like the one that led to Crimea’s takeover by Russia last month.
Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, in power since pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych was ousted in February, told lawmakers that Ukraine’s latest secessionist crisis could be resolved peacefully.
“If people lay down their arms and free the administration buildings ... we guarantee that we will not launch any criminal proceedings against them,” he promised.
But the separatists dug in on Thursday, fortifying their barricades with razor wire, sand bags and old tyres that could be set on fire in case of a police assault.
The Donetsk separatists earlier proclaimed the creation of their own “people’s republic” and called on Putin to order Russian troops into Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.
In a further escalation of the crisis, Russia warned Europe on Thursday that its gas supplies would be in peril unless it helped to pay off Ukrainian debts.
President Vladimir Putin’s most direct warning about Russian gas deliveries – vital to the health of the European economy – came as relations between Moscow and the West reached new post-Cold War lows.
The war of words over the ex-Soviet country adds extra urgency to the first round of direct talks that EU and US diplomats have convinced both Russia and Ukraine to attend, set for April 17 in either Geneva or Vienna.
On Thursday, Nato released 19 satellite pictures showing that up to 40000 Russian troops armed with tanks and military vehicles have set up camp just east of Ukraine’s border. “It’s a concern because it represents a real threat for Ukraine,” said Brigadier Gary Deakin, director of Nato’s comprehensive crisis operations centre. — AFP
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos