Keep out of Ukraine, America tells Russia
The White House says it no longer considers Viktor Yanukovych to be the president of Ukraine as Russia puts its aircraft on 'combat alert'
John Kerry, the US secretary of state,
urged Russia to join America and its allies in a concerted effort to
stabilise the near bankrupt country Photo: GETTY IMAGES
9:12PM GMT 27 Feb 2014
Comment
The United States warned Russia against “provocative” actions in Ukraine last
night, as fears mounted that a pro-Russian separatist movement in the Black
Sea peninsula of Crimea could plunge the region into open conflict.
“We strongly support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. We
expect other nations to do the same,” Jay Carney, the White House spokesman,
said in Washington.
In comments that welcomed a new government approved by the acting president of
Ukraine on Thursday, Mr Carney added that the White House no longer
considered Viktor Yanukovych – ousted by protesters last week – to be
president, saying he “abdicated his responsibility”.
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, urged Russia to join America and its
allies in a concerted effort to stabilise the near bankrupt country.
Speaking after Russian defence officials put attack aircraft on what they
called “combat alert” as part of military exercises across a region close to
Ukraine, he cautioned: “We believe that everybody now needs to step back and
avoid any kind of provocations.”
His comments came at the end of a day in which dozens of pro-Russian gunmen
occupied regional government and parliamentary buildings in Simferopol, the
Crimean capital, and raised Russian flags over them. At the same time, the
regional assembly voted to hold a referendum on greater autonomy within
Ukraine, in an attempt to defuse the mounting crisis on the peninsula.
Russia’s military manoeuvres, involving 150,000 troops, 90 aircraft, more than 120 helicopters and 880 tanks, appeared designed to ratchet up pressure on the new government in Kiev, which came to power after pro-European protesters forced Mr Yanokovytch to flee.
Mr Yanukovytch confirmed that he had fled to Russia, issuing a statement in which he requested Moscow’s protection and declaring himself still to be the “legitimate head of the Ukrainian state”.
Russia’s foreign ministry declined to comment on his whereabouts, but was fiercely critical of events in Kiev. “The fighters have failed to hand in arms, they have not freed administrative buildings and they talk of their intentions to 'bring order’ to all Ukrainian regions,” the statement said.
Mr Kerry said he had spoken to Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, by telephone about tensions in the region, and Russian military forces on the border. Mr Lavrov told him that the military exercises were not related to Ukraine and had been previously scheduled, he said.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (AP)
The US plea was echoed by other Western leaders, as well as by the new government in Kiev. In London, David Cameron warned that “the world will be watching” the way Russia dealt with Ukraine. At a joint press conference with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, the Prime Minister said both countries “support a united and a democratic Ukraine and we support the aspirations of the Ukrainian people to live in a truly democratic society”.
He added: “Every country should respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Ukraine. Russia has made that commitment and it is important that Russia keeps its word.”
Oleksander Turchynov, Ukraine’s acting president, warned that any attempt by Russian forces to leave their naval base in Sebastopol would be viewed as an act of “military aggression”.
Tensions in the Russian-majority Crimea soared after ethnic Russians established checkpoints on roads and raised vigilante defence groups in response to what many there see as an illegitimate coup by far-Right forces in Kiev.
The Crimean assembly’s vote to hold a referendum was taken as hundreds of pro-Russian demonstrators gathered on the street listening to Second World War songs and chanting “Russia!”
Armed men are still believed to control the building where the deputies held their vote. About 50 gunmen had arrived by bus and lorry in the early hours of the morning and forced their way into the assembly building, dragooning pro-Russian protesters who had built barricades outside to carry in cases of ammunition.
Gennady Moskal, an MP with the opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party, said the gunmen were allied to rogue Berkut riot police who mutinied rather than disband as ordered on Wednesday. The claims could not be confirmed. The Berkut, or Golden Eagles, were an elite police unit trained in riot control and use of combat weapons and were blamed for much of the violence against protesters in Kiev.
The referendum will ask Crimeans only whether they favour greater autonomy within Ukraine – not whether they favour independence or becoming part of Russia, options that many protesters outside parliament said they supported. “Russia must support us. We need information support and moral support,” said Gennady Busov, the head of Russian Bloc, a political party dedicated to defending the interests of Russian Crimeans. “We’re not at war yet.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s new government said Thursday it needed an almost immediate injection of $15 billion from the International Monetary Fund or other lenders to stave off collapse. Britain’s share of that would be about $675 million (£405 million) but would rise to close to £1 billion if the fund provided the full $35 billion that Ukraine’s finance ministry says it needs for this year and next to avoid default. Christine Lagarde, The IMF’s chief, promised that it would help Ukraine “at this critical moment in its history”. The EU is also preparing an emergency loan of £1 billion.
Kostiantyn Yeliseyev, Ukraine’s ambassador to the EU, told The Telegraph that British taxpayers would get their money back if the UK contributed to a financial rescue package. “We are speaking about loans, not some kind of gift,” he said.
Additional reporting by Andrew Rettman in Brussels and James Kirkup
end quote from:
Keep out of Ukraine, America tells Russia
Russia’s military manoeuvres, involving 150,000 troops, 90 aircraft, more than 120 helicopters and 880 tanks, appeared designed to ratchet up pressure on the new government in Kiev, which came to power after pro-European protesters forced Mr Yanokovytch to flee.
Mr Yanukovytch confirmed that he had fled to Russia, issuing a statement in which he requested Moscow’s protection and declaring himself still to be the “legitimate head of the Ukrainian state”.
Russia’s foreign ministry declined to comment on his whereabouts, but was fiercely critical of events in Kiev. “The fighters have failed to hand in arms, they have not freed administrative buildings and they talk of their intentions to 'bring order’ to all Ukrainian regions,” the statement said.
Mr Kerry said he had spoken to Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, by telephone about tensions in the region, and Russian military forces on the border. Mr Lavrov told him that the military exercises were not related to Ukraine and had been previously scheduled, he said.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (AP)
The US plea was echoed by other Western leaders, as well as by the new government in Kiev. In London, David Cameron warned that “the world will be watching” the way Russia dealt with Ukraine. At a joint press conference with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, the Prime Minister said both countries “support a united and a democratic Ukraine and we support the aspirations of the Ukrainian people to live in a truly democratic society”.
He added: “Every country should respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Ukraine. Russia has made that commitment and it is important that Russia keeps its word.”
Oleksander Turchynov, Ukraine’s acting president, warned that any attempt by Russian forces to leave their naval base in Sebastopol would be viewed as an act of “military aggression”.
Tensions in the Russian-majority Crimea soared after ethnic Russians established checkpoints on roads and raised vigilante defence groups in response to what many there see as an illegitimate coup by far-Right forces in Kiev.
The Crimean assembly’s vote to hold a referendum was taken as hundreds of pro-Russian demonstrators gathered on the street listening to Second World War songs and chanting “Russia!”
Armed men are still believed to control the building where the deputies held their vote. About 50 gunmen had arrived by bus and lorry in the early hours of the morning and forced their way into the assembly building, dragooning pro-Russian protesters who had built barricades outside to carry in cases of ammunition.
Gennady Moskal, an MP with the opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party, said the gunmen were allied to rogue Berkut riot police who mutinied rather than disband as ordered on Wednesday. The claims could not be confirmed. The Berkut, or Golden Eagles, were an elite police unit trained in riot control and use of combat weapons and were blamed for much of the violence against protesters in Kiev.
The referendum will ask Crimeans only whether they favour greater autonomy within Ukraine – not whether they favour independence or becoming part of Russia, options that many protesters outside parliament said they supported. “Russia must support us. We need information support and moral support,” said Gennady Busov, the head of Russian Bloc, a political party dedicated to defending the interests of Russian Crimeans. “We’re not at war yet.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s new government said Thursday it needed an almost immediate injection of $15 billion from the International Monetary Fund or other lenders to stave off collapse. Britain’s share of that would be about $675 million (£405 million) but would rise to close to £1 billion if the fund provided the full $35 billion that Ukraine’s finance ministry says it needs for this year and next to avoid default. Christine Lagarde, The IMF’s chief, promised that it would help Ukraine “at this critical moment in its history”. The EU is also preparing an emergency loan of £1 billion.
Kostiantyn Yeliseyev, Ukraine’s ambassador to the EU, told The Telegraph that British taxpayers would get their money back if the UK contributed to a financial rescue package. “We are speaking about loans, not some kind of gift,” he said.
Additional reporting by Andrew Rettman in Brussels and James Kirkup
end quote from:
Keep out of Ukraine, America tells Russia
