Moscow threatens to hit back at EU
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PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin yesterday rebuffed a warning from US President Barack Obama over Moscow’s military intervention in Crimea, saying Russia couldn’t ignore calls for help from Russian speakers in Ukraine.
After an hourlong phone call, Putin said Moscow and Washington were far apart on the situation in the former Soviet republic, where he said the new authorities had taken “absolutely illegitimate decisions on the eastern, southeastern and Crimea regions.
“Russia can’t ignore calls for help and it acts accordingly, in full compliance with international law,” Putin said.
Ukraine’s border guards said Moscow had poured troops into the southern peninsula where Russian forces have seized control. Serhiy Astakhov, an aide to the border guards’ commander, said there were now 30,000 Russian soldiers in Crimea, compared to 11,000 permanently based with the Russian Black Sea fleet in the port of Sevastopol before the crisis.
Putin denies that the forces with no national insignia that are surrounding Ukrainian troops in their bases are under Moscow’s command, although their vehicles have Russian military plates.
The most serious east-west confrontation since the end of the Cold War — resulting from the overthrow last month of President Viktor Yanukovych after violent protests in Kiev — escalated on Thursday when Crimea’s parliament, dominated by ethnic Russians, voted to join Russia. The region’s government set a referendum for March 16.
European Union leaders and Obama denounced the referendum as illegitimate, saying that it would violate Ukraine’s constitution.
The head of Russia’s upper house of parliament said Crimea had a right to self-determination and ruled out any risk of war between “brotherly nations.”
Before calling Putin, Obama announced sanctions against Russia, ordering visa bans and asset freezes against so far unidentified persons deemed responsible for threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty.
The EU adopted a three-stage plan to try to force a solution but stopped short of sanctions. The Russian Foreign Ministry responded angrily yesterday, calling the EU decision to freeze talks on visa-free travel “extremely unconstructive” and warned Moscow would retaliate.
Brussels and Washington also rushed to strengthen the new authorities in economically shattered Ukraine, announcing political and financial assistance.
In their call, Obama said he urged Putin to accept the terms of a potential diplomatic solution that would take account of Russia’s interests in the region.
Putin was defiant on Ukraine, where he said the pro-Russian Yanukovych had been ousted in an “anti-constitutional coup.” But he underlined what he called “the paramount important of Russian-US relations,” the Kremlin said.
“These relations should not be sacrificed for individual differences ... over international problems,” Putin said.
The EU welcomed Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk to a summit, though Kiev is not a member of the bloc, and agreed to bring forward the signing of the political parts of a deal on closer ties before Ukraine’s May 25 elections.
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