Russia faces fresh Crimea sanctions Crimean pro-Russian forces seized two naval bases on Wednesday European Union leaders are due to meet in Brussels to discuss further targeted sanctions in response to Russias annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. It comes as UN chief Ban Ki-moon visits Russian leaders in Moscow to urge a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Tensions are rising in Crimea after pro-Russia forces seized two naval bases including Ukraines navy HQ, and the navy commander was detained. Russia has called on the Crimean authorities to release Serhiy Hayduk. Crimean leaders signed a treaty with Moscow on Tuesday to absorb the peninsula - an autonomous republic in southern Ukraine - into Russia, following a disputed referendum on Sunday. Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the process was expected to be completed this week, Russias Interfax news agency reports . He said Russia was protecting the rights of Russians, and would continue to insist their rights and freedoms are observed fully in the countries where [our] compatriots are living. The crisis comes nearly a month after Ukraines pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was replaced by Western-leaning interim authorities. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and sailors remain trapped inside military bases on the peninsula, surrounded by heavily armed pro-Russia forces. UK-German call Western leaders have denounced Russias actions in Crimea as a violation of Ukraines sovereignty and a breach of international law. The EU, the US and a number of other countries have already imposed sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian individuals. Ukrainian officers, right, were forced to leave their navy base in Novo-Ozyorne Washington ordered the freezing of assets and travel bans on 11 individuals, while the EU imposed similar sanctions on 21 people. EU leaders are expected to extend their sanctions on Thursday, possibly including political and military figures close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The BBCs Matthew Price in Brussels says no blinding announcements on sanctions can be expected, and discussions are likely to be very heated. There is a division among EU members between those in the west who favour a cautious approach, and those in the east who fear they could be next, our correspondent adds. Diplomats are talking privately, however, of a wholesale realignment of both European energy policies - to make the EU less reliant on Moscow - and relations with Russia itself, he adds. British Prime Minister David Cameron called German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the EUs response, a Downing Street spokeswoman said. They reiterated that Sundays referendum in Crimea and Russias subsequent actions to annex Crimea are both illegal and agreed that the EU should impose further consequences on Russia, building on the travel bans and asset freezes agreed by European foreign ministers on Monday, she said. UN principles The US has also said it is considering further sanctions. President Barack Obama ruled out US military involvement in Ukraine on Wednesday, saying: We do not need to trigger an actual war with Russia. Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will meet President Putin in Moscow on Thursday and will travel to Kiev on Friday. Mr Ban has called for a solution to the crisis guided by the principles of the UN Charter including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the unity of Ukraine. In Crimea itself, a deadline set by Kiev for local authorities to release Ukrainian navy chief Serhiy Hayduk on Wednesday evening passed without incident. His whereabouts are still unknown but local media reported that he had been summoned for questioning by prosecutors. Ukraines navy headquarters in Sevastopol, Crimea, was one of two bases seized by pro-Russia forces on Wednesday. Interim President Olexander Turchynov earlier said that unless Commander Hayduk and all the other hostages - both military and civilian ones - were released, the authorities would carry out an adequate response... of a technical and technological nature. Ukraine said on Wednesday it was drawing up plans to withdraw its soldiers and their families from Crimea. Security chief Andriy Parubiy said they wanted to move them quickly and efficiently to mainland Ukraine. BBC © 2014
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 07:34:39 +0000