Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha
Moscow: In the most embittered phase yet in East-West ties since Cold War, US has threatened to impose fresh round of sanctions on Russia in wake of President Vladimir Putin signing Crimea annexation treaty.
After a Sunday referendum saw over 97 percent of Crimeans voting in favour of reuniting with Russian Federation, Putin yesterday signed a treaty with Crimean prime minister Sergei Aksyonov, seceding the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine and claiming it a part of Russian territory.
Putin however clarified that Russia had no intention to annex other pro-Russian parts of eastern Ukraine.
The move has evoked sharp condemnation from the West which had earlier touted the referendum as illegal.
Threatening more measures against Russian, the White House spokesperson Jay Carney said, “More is coming” in reference to sanctions on Moscow.
US President Barack Obama has decided to meet G7 leaders in The Hague next week to push for Russia`s isolation by pressing tougher sanctions on Moscow.
"We can calibrate our response based on whether Russia chooses to escalate or to de-escalate the situation," Obama said Monday.
The US had yesterday imposed sanctions on 11 Ukrainian and Russian officials.
US Vice President Joe Biden, who was in Poland, called Crimea annexation a "land grab" by Russia whereas US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that any further attempts by Russia to annex eastern Ukraine parts would be “egregious”.
Kerry cautoned that Russia`s "nationalistic fervor" regarding Crimea reflected the same passion that was seen in the lead-up to World War II.
"Today is egregious enough when you raise this nationalistic fervor which could in fact infect in ways which could be very, very dangerous," Kerry said.
"All you have to do is go back and read in history of the lead-up to World War II and the passions that were released with that kind of nationalistic fervor.
Miffed with Russian overture in Ukraine, France yesterday announced that the Group of Eight (G8) had decided to suspend Russia`s membership.
Also, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK had suspended military cooperation with Russia.
Hours after the treaty claiming Crimea as Russian part was signed, Russian FM Sergei Lavrov and US counterpart John Kerry talked over the phone.
A Russian foreign ministry statement sought to justify Russia`s action saying the move was in accordance with the will of Crimean residents.
"(Crimea) republic residents made their democratic choice in line with the international law and the UN charter, which Russia accepts and respects....while the sanctions introduced by the United States and the European Union are unacceptable and will not remain without consequences," read the Russian statement.
Also, prior to signing the treaty, Putin presented a robust justification of Crimea annexation, saying, "In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia”.
In a fiery address, Putin salmmed the West saying it had “crossed the line on Ukraine”.
Putin further went back to history, calling the Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev`s decision to gift the peninsula to the Ukrainian Soviet republic as a "violation".
"When Crimea suddenly ended up being in another state, Russia felt it was not simply robbed --- it was plundered," he said.
Crimea was a part of Russia till 18th century before Soviet-era leader Nikita Khrushchev gifted it to Ukraine in 1954.
The Russian move is expected to bring more bitterness between East-West ties.
The extent of hostility was evident in a comment made by a Russian State TV anchor, who said
"Russia is the only country in the world realistically capable of turning the United States into radioactive ash”.
