[Crimea Annexation-3] #Kerry meets #Lavrov in London; #G7 blasts #Russias violation of intl law | VOA News - 3/12/2014 1. Kerry to meet Lavrov in London WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to London to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday to try to ease tensions over #Ukraine ahead of Sunday’s planned #Crimea #referendum. Last week, Kerry met with Lavrov twice in Europe to discuss the crisis over Ukraine. Neither meeting yielded any results. 2. US continues unwavering support for Ukraine The Secretary will continue to reaffirm the United States unwavering support for Ukrainian #sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and the right of the Ukrainian people to determine their own future, without outside interference or provocation by Russia. the State Department said in a statement announcing Kerrys trip. 3. G-7 blasts Russian violation of intl law Joined by other leaders, the G-7 is calling on Russia to cease all efforts to change the status of Ukraine’s peninsula in violation of Ukrainian and international law. A controversial Moscow-backed referendum on the territory’s status, which the West has said it will not recognize, is planned for Sunday. 4. Referendum has no legal effect “Any such referendum would have no legal effect. Given the lack of adequate preparation and the intimidating presence of Russian troops, it would also be a deeply flawed process which would have no moral force. For all these reasons, we would not recognize the outcome,” says the G-7 statement as released by the White House. 5. G7 to Russia: We will take further action Citing a number of international agreements the referendum would violate, the statement also stresses that “the annexation of Crimea [by Russia] could have grave implications for the legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all states.” “Should the Russian Federation take such a step, we will take further action, individually and collectively,” the statement adds. 6. G7: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US The statement was issued by the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States as well as the president of the European Council and the president of the European Commission. 7. Suspend any activities for G-8 Sochi meeting It also reminds Moscow of our decision to suspend participation in any activities related to preparation of a G-8 Sochi meeting until it changes course and the environment comes back to where the G-8 is able to have a meaningful discussion. The summit in the Russian city was scheduled for June. Next ▶EU preps sanction docs; Merkel, Hollande urge Russia to talk Read in full: voanews/content/obama-meeting-ukraines-new-pm-at-white-house/1869405.html
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 04:25:07 +0000
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