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On Wednesday, the US warned Russia to stop its “provocation” in Ukraine, reiterating it could slap new sanctions on them. The US State department demanded demobilization and de-escalation from the Russian forces. US Secretary of State John Kerry is on his way to Europe for international talks regarding the Ukrainian crisis.
Kerry and the EU will hold a four-way talk with Russia and Ukraine on Thursday so as to defuse the situation. However, the US is more interested in seeing direct actions by Russia on the ground, and warned it would further penalize Russia if it won’t stand down.
State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said “We definitely want to see an immediate halt to that provocation. Talk doesn’t replace actions when it comes to what’s happening on the ground, and we will continue to prepare additional sanctions and other steps if we can’t get some de-escalation here. Clearly, the presence of armed groups that the Russians are supporting in eastern Ukraine is an incredibly pressing priority”.
Harf described the talks as “an important diplomatic step”; however, she downplayed the potential for a dramatic breakthrough during the talks. “I wouldn’t put it all on this meeting, Russia needs to take steps to de-escalate”, she said. Harf added that in addition to the talks, Kerry will meet separately with EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya in Geneva.
Harf did not describe the crisis in Ukraine as a civil war and said that she has not heard any State Department officials use that specific term. She noted that the US’ relationship with Russia is “complicated”, but despite current tensions, remains intact. “There are places we work together”, she said, pointing out their international talks with Iran regarding its nuclear program and their efforts to remove Syria’s chemical weapons. “But I don’t think anyone would be surprised that the events of the last weeks and months have really been hard for the (U.S.-Russia) relationship”, she added.
