Kerry speaks with lavrov; both reject use of force
Washington: US Secretary of State John Kerry has spoken with his Russian counterpart Sergei lavrov twice in a day on the importance of peacefully resolving the security situation in eastern Ukraine and rejecting the use of force for political objectives.
“In a second phone call on Thursday, Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister lavrov discussed the importance of resolving the security situation in key cities in Eastern Ukraine peacefully and through dialogue and they both rejected the use of force to obtain political objectives,” State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
Russian lawmakers stripped of voting rights at Council of Europe
Strasbourg (France): Russian lawmakers at the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly were stripped of their voting rights until the end of 2014 on Thursday over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.
Ukraine offers amnesty to pro-Russian militants
Donetsk (Ukraine): The embattled acting President of Ukraine promised not to prosecute pro-Russian militants occupying Government buildings in the east of the country if they laid down their arms and halted a four-day standoff. The olive branch came as the clock ticked down to a deadline on Friday for the separatists to walk out of the State security building in lugansk and the seat of Government in nearby Donetsk or face the possible use of force.
‘Secret polls’ sealed decision to annex Crimea: Putin
Moscow: Russian President Putin said that his decision to take the Crimean peninsula under Russian control was made final after “secret polls” showed that its people wanted to be ruled by Moscow. “My decisions were finalised after people’s attitudes became clear,” he said. “We weren’t prepared for such a turn of events. To tell you the truth, we could imagine how people felt but did not know for sure.”