KIEV,
Ukraine — The besieged new government of Ukraine accused Russian forces
of a major escalation in pressure over control of the Crimea on Monday
night, saying the Russians had demanded that Ukrainian forces there
surrender within hours or face armed assault. Russia denied it had
issued any ultimatum.
The
Interfax-Ukrainian news agency quoted an unidentified Ukrainian Defense
ministry official as saying Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander had set a
deadline of 5 a.m. Tuesday — 10 p.m. Monday Eastern time — for
Ukrainian forces stationed in Crimea to lay down their weapons. But
Russia’s Interfax news agency said the Black Sea Fleet had no such
plans.
The
speaker of Russia’s parliament said on television that Russia does not
yet need use its “right” to launch further military action in Ukraine.
“This right can be used in case it is necessary,” said the speaker,
Sergei Naryshkin. “But currently is not necessary.”
European
Union foreign ministers met in emergency session in Brussels to discuss
possible punitive steps against Russia unless it pulled its troops back
to its own bases in Crimea, including suspension of talks with Moscow
on visa liberalization. But France and Germany said that sanctions were
not on the table, urging dialogue with Russia first.
The
German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said that “crisis
diplomacy is not a weakness but it will be more important than ever to
not fall into the abyss of military escalation,” an indication that the
Europeans would not agree on significant action. Dutch Foreign Minister
Frans Timmermans told reporters that “sanctions are not in order today
but sanctions will become inevitable” if there is no change in Russia’s
position.
Visiting
the new government in Kiev, British Foreign Secretary William Hague
urged Russia to pull back its forces in Crimea or face “significant
costs,” echoing comments made by President Obama and Secretary of State
John Kerry, who was due here on Tuesday.
Mr.
Hague also emphasized diplomacy. “The world cannot just allow this to
happen,” he told the BBC. “The world cannot say it’s O.K. in effect to
violate the sovereignty of another nation in this way.”
The
Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, responded that Russia was
only protecting its interests and those of Russian citizens in Ukraine.
In a Geneva speech, Mr. Lavrov broke from his text to say: “Those who
try to interpret the situation as an act of aggression, threaten us with
sanctions and boycotts, are the same partners who have been
consistently and vigorously encouraging the political powers close to
them to declare ultimatums and renounce dialogue, to ignore the concerns
of the south and east of Ukraine, and consequently to the polarization
of the Ukrainian society.”
The
use of Russian troops is necessary “until the normalization of the
political situation” in Ukraine, Mr. Lavrov said at an opening of a
monthlong session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“We are talking here about protection of our citizens and compatriots,
about protection of the most fundamental of the human rights — the right
to live, and nothing more.” But he did not specify what threats Russian
citizens faced from Ukraine.
At
the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Security Council was
scheduled to meet Monday afternoon, at Russia’s request — the third
meeting since Friday. At each, Russia has been sharply criticized by
Western members. At one point, the British ambassador to the United
Nations, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, said Russia had provided no justification
for its military actions. The United States ambassador, Samantha Power,
urged Russia to “stand down,” and recommended a fact-finding mission by
either the United Nations or the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe.
Russia holds veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council, so it was unclear what the Security Council could do.
With
the new Kiev government confronted with the loss of Crimea and a
worsening economic situation, a team from the International Monetary
Fund was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday for a 10-day investigation of
the true state of Ukraine’s finances. The government has said that it is
prepared to take difficult economic reform measures if necessary to
secure a stabilization loan from the fund.
Moscow suspended its offer of bond purchases when President Viktor F. Yanukovych was ousted more than a week ago.
Reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/world/europe/ukraine.html?_r=0
