Won’t recognise ‘annexation’ of Ukraine region
The United States and some of its major European allies have warned Russia of stronger sanctions if it pushes ahead with its bid to “legitimise” control of the Crimean peninsula through a referendum set for next Sunday.
“First, if there is an annexation of Crimea, a referendum that moves Crimea from Ukraine to Russia, we won’t recognise it, nor will most of the world,” US Deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken told CNN. “Second, the pressure that we’ve already exerted in coordination with our partners and allies will go up. The President made it very clear in announcing our sanctions, as did the Europeans the other day, that this is the first step and we’ve put in place a very flexible and very tough mechanism to increase the pressure, to increase the sanctions,” he said.
If Russia “makes the wrong choice going forward, we have the ability to exert significant pressure on Russia, as do our partners”, he said, noting: “We’ve seen Russian markets go down substantially, the rouble go down, and investors sitting on the fence. So Russia’s paying a price for this.”
Blinken, who appeared on other Sunday TV talk shows as well, said on NBC News that if the referendum were to happen, “the isolation of Russia, the cost that it would pay, would increase significantly from where they are now”.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meeting in Hanover on Sunday night, agreed that any Russian attempt to legitimise the referendum would result in “further consequences”, implying stronger sanctions.
Crimea, with an ethnic Russia majority, is expected to make a formal push to separate from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation with the March 16 referendum.
The issue is also set to figure at President Barack Obama’s meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk at the White House on Wednesday. The meeting will “discuss how to find a peaceful resolution to Russia’s ongoing military intervention in Crimea that would respect Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The proposed referendum would violate international law and the Ukrainian constitution, Obama said last week, while announcing the first round of sanctions, comprising travel bans and freezing of assets of individuals responsible for the Russian military intervention in Crimea. The list, however, did not include Russian President Vladimir Putin individuals.
The Republicans, who have been pressuring Obama to act more swiftly and strongly against Russia, wondered if the American measures would have any effect on Putin. Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Obama should ought to do more to flex US military muscle.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Tea Party favourite, told ABC News: “A critical reason for Putin’s aggression has been President Obama’s weakness, that Putin fears no retribution.”