The Ukraine crisis appeared to be escalating on Friday as Russian President Vladimir Putin brushed aside a warning from US President Barack Obama on “costs” Moscow would have to bear for its military intervention by continuing to ignore calls for a diplomatic resolution of the tangle.
Sharp disagreement between the two came to the fore during an hour-long telephone conversation with Obama questioning Russia’s “violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, and Putin defending his action to deal with the new Ukraine leadership’s “absolutely illegitimate decisions on the eastern, southeastern and Crimea regions”.
While Obama urged Putin to embrace a diplomatic resolution the interests of Russia, the people of Ukraine and the international community, Putin took the stand that “Russia “cannot ignore calls for help and it acts accordingly, in full compliance with international law”.
The call, initiated by Obama on Thursday, came hours after the US imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on Russians, and lawmakers in Crimea prepared to secede from Ukraine by scheduling a referendum for March 16. In what is being seen as the biggest East-West confrontation since the end of the Cold War, the United States and the European Union quickly denounced the secession move and termed the referendum plan illegal. But leaders of both houses of Russia’s Parliament came out in support of the vote to break away from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.
Following Obama’s call, a White House statement said that he spoke of the several steps that the US had to take in coordination with its European partners because the Russian actions were in violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
As part of his advocacy of a diplomatic resolution, Obama proposed that the Governments of Ukraine and Russia hold direct talks, facilitated by the international community. He also mooted international monitors to ensure that the rights of all Ukrainians are protected, including ethnic Russians. While urging the return of Russian forces to their bases, the Obama proposal called upon the international community would to work together to support the Ukrainian people as they prepare for elections in May.
Obama indicated that US Secretary of State John Kerry would continue discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey lavrov, the Ukraine government, and other international partners in the days to come. But a Russian statement put out on the Kremlin website said that during the call, Putin condemned the new Ukraine government as the result of an “anti-constitutional coup” and said Russia was “unable to ignore” requests for protection from the region.
Putin, however, stressed the “paramount importance of Russian-American relations to ensure stability and security in the world”, adding: “These relations should not be sacrificed for individual differences, albeit very important ones, over international problems.” Earlier in the day, Obama, while announcing the asset freezes and visa bans, disapproved of the Crimean moves, commented: “We are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders.”