Ukraine crisis: Vladimir Putin looking for `pretext` to invade further, says Kerry

Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha Washington: Even as Russian leader Vladimir Putin tried to present a sturdy justification over Ukraine claiming that he had no intention to go to war, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday said that Moscow was trying to stitch up excuses to invade further than Crimea. Kerry, who arrived in Kiev on Tuesday also announced an "immediate" aid in form of $1 billion support package to the cash-strapped nation. Besides, Kerry added that US officials along with the IMF were planning a broader economic aid for Ukraine that needs $35bn over the next two years to recover. In his first detailed comments on Ukraine, Putin in an news conference on Tuesday asserted that Russia reserved the right to protect Russians in Ukraine by “all means” and it would be legitimate.

However, Kerry said that there were no signs that Russian-speakers in Ukraine were in any sort of danger or threat after Kiev saw new leaders taking up the reins. "It is clear that Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further," Kerry said. "If Russia does not choose to de-escalate... then our partners will have absolutely no choice but to join us... in order to isolate Russia politically, diplomatically and economically," he added. Putin had however yesterday assured that he will use military force in Ukraine only as a “last resort”. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is in Madrid, addressed a press conference saying Russia will not allow bloodshed in Ukraine. "We will not allow bloodshed. We will not allow attempts against the lives and wellbeing of those who live in Ukraine and Russian citizens who live in Ukraine," AFP quoted Lavrov as saying. Lavrov in a meeting with EU ministers, told foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton that an EU-brokered agreement signed on Feb 21 should be implemented for de-escalating the situation in Ukraine. "Lavrov emphasised that the normalisation of the situation in that country should be based on the founding principles of the agreement about regulating the crisis in Ukraine on February 21", read a statement. Russia and US (Kerry and Lavrov) are slated to hold talks over the Ukraine crisis in Paris, for which Moscow has been at the receiving end of widespread warning and threat from the Western leaders. Besides, the G7 nations threatening to show Russia the door from the Group of Eight, the US suspended all sorts of military engagements with Russia. Also, the EU and the US have been mulling over a host of sanctions on Moscow to thwart its aggression in Crimea. Russia has now de facto control over Crimea with troops loyal to Russia (not Russian soldiers as Putin said) have been occupying key bases and installation in Crimea. However, Putin said that he had no intention to annex Crimea, claiming that the uniformed troops gathered in the Black Sea peninsula were not Russian soldiers but the "local self-defence forces".  "As for bringing in forces, for now there is no such need, but such a possibility exists...What could serve as a reason to use military force? It would naturally be the last resort. Absolutely the last,"  Putin said yesterday. Reacting to Putin`s robust clarifications over his overtures in Ukraine, US President Barack Obama said, "President Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers making a different set of interpretations... But I don`t think that`s fooling anybody.”  Obama who had earlier warned Russia of costs in case of military intervention in Ukraine, said that Putin was trying to "seeking through force to exert influence on a neighbouring country".