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| Ukrainian soldiers man a check point in the village of Strilkove, Ukraine, Sunday, March 16, 2014. Russia raised the stakes Saturday when its forces, backed by helicopter gunships and armored vehicles, took control of the Ukrainian village of Strilkove and a key natural gas distribution plant nearby— the first Russian military move into Ukraine beyond the Crimean peninsula of 2 million people. The Russian forces later returned the village but kept control of the gas plant. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin on
Sunday that Crimea's vote to secede from Ukraine and join Russia would
never be recognized by the United States.
The two leaders spoke after residents in Crimea voted overwhelmingly in favor of the split.
The
White House said Obama told Putin the Crimean vote violates the
Ukrainian constitution and occurred under duress of Russian military
intervention.
He also said the U.S. was prepared to impose retaliatory penalties on Russia.
Obama
urged Putin to work with Ukraine as well as Western nations to resolve
the crisis diplomatically. Obama also asked Putin to support the
deployment of international monitors to help prevent violence in
Ukraine
as that country prepares for spring elections.
Even
before official results were announced, the White House denounced the
vote, saying "no decisions should be made about the future of Ukraine
without the Ukrainian government" and noting that Russia had rejected
the deployment of international monitors in Crimea to ensure the rights
of ethnic Russians there were protected.
"Russia
has spurned those calls as well as outreach from the Ukrainian
government and instead has escalated its military intervention into
Crimea and initiated threatening military exercises on Ukraine's eastern
border," the White House said.
"Russia's actions are dangerous and destabilizing," the White House said.
U.S.
officials reaffirmed that the Obama administration will, along with the
European Union, impose penalties on Russia if it annexes the strategic
region. They also warned that any Russia moves on east and south Ukraine
would be a grave escalation requiring additional responses.
Secretary
of State John Kerry called on Moscow to return its troops in Crimea to
their bases, pull back forces from the Ukraine border, halt incitement
in eastern Ukraine and support the political reforms in Ukraine that
would protect ethnic Russians, Russian speakers and others in the former
Soviet republic that Russia says it is concerned about.
In
a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Kerry urged Russia
"to support efforts by Ukrainians across the spectrum to address power
sharing and decentralization through a constitutional reform process
that is broadly inclusive and protects the rights of minorities," the
State Department said.
It was their second call since unsuccessful talks Friday in London.
Kerry
expressed "strong concerns" about Russian military activities in the
southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, just north of Crimea where Russian
troops appeared Saturday, and about "continuing provocations" in cities
in east Ukraine, the department said.
Kerry
"made clear that this crisis can only be resolved politically and that
as Ukrainians take the necessary political measures going forward,
Russia must reciprocate by pulling forces back to base and addressing
the tensions and concerns about military engagement," the department
said.
A senior State Department official said
Lavrov's willingness to discuss Ukraine political reforms was positive.
But the official stressed that the Russian military escalation was of
"greatest concern" and must be reversed. The official spoke on condition
of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
White
House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said that Russia faces penalties that
would hurt its economy and diminish its influence in the world if
President Vladimir Putin didn't back down. Pfeiffer said the
administration was committed to supporting the new Ukrainian government
in Kiev "in every way possible."
"President
Putin has a choice about what he's going to do here. Is he going to
continue to further isolate himself, further hurt his economy, further
diminish Russian influence in the world, or is he going to do the right
thing?" Pfeiffer said.
U.S. and European
officials have said they plan to announce sanctions against Russia,
including visa bans and potential asset freezes, on Monday if Putin does
not shift course.
But Putin and other
Russians have shown no sign they are willing to back down. They insist
they will respect the results of the Crimean referendum in which voters
in the largely pro-Moscow peninsula are expected to choose joining
Russia by a wide margin.
Members of Congress
said they were prepared to enact tough sanctions on various Russian
leaders, but $1 billion in loan guarantees to help the Ukrainian economy
is on hold while Congress is on a break.
"President
Putin has started a game of Russian roulette, and I think the United
States and the West have to be very clear in their response because he
will calculate about how far he can go," said Sen. Robert Menendez,
D-N.J., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The
top Republican on the committee, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, said the
U.S. and Europe were entering a "defining moment" in their relationship
with Russia.
"Putin will continue to do this.
He did it in Georgia a few years ago. He's moved into Crimea, and he
will move into other places unless we show that long-term resolve."
Democratic
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, just back from meetings in Ukraine,
said Ukrainians he talked to said war could occur if Russia attempts to
annex more territory. They indicated that "if Russia really does decide
to move beyond Crimea, it's going to be bloody and the fight may be
long," Murphy said.
Pfeiffer spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press." Menendez and Corker appeared on "Fox News Sunday." Murphy was on ABC's "This Week."
