Moscow: President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia had the right to use “all means” to protect its citizens in Ukraine but denied it had sent troops to Crimea, amid a Cold War-style standoff over the ex-Soviet state.
The Kremlin chief described the ouster of Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych after protests in Kiev which left nearly 100 people dead last month as an “armed seizure of power”.
His tough-talking comments underline the struggle the United States and European Union face to resolve the most serious crisis in the region since the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.
“We reserve the right to use all means to protect,” Putin told reporters at his suburban Moscow residence in a briefing broadcast live on state television.
But he said there was currently “no need” to send troops into Ukraine, comments that appeared to reassure financial markets which have been on edge over fears of an armed conflict on the eastern edge of the European Union.
“There can only be one assessment of what happened in Kiev and Ukraine as a whole — this was an anti-constitutional takeover and armed seizure of power,” he added.
His comments came as US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kiev on Tuesday and announced an economic package and technical assistance for Ukraine in a show of support for its new government amid escalating tensions with Russia.
Economic sanctions
Kerry’s visit comes as Washington and its Western allies step up pressure on Moscow to withdraw its troops from Ukraine’s Crimea region or face economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
A senior US administration official, who briefed reporters en route to Kiev, said the Obama administration would work with Congress to approve $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) in loan guarantees to help lessen the impact on Ukrainians of proposed energy subsidy cuts.
Pro-Moscow forces remain in de-facto control of Crimea — a strategic Black Sea peninsula that has housed the Russian Black Sea Fleet since the 18th century.
Underlining the tensions, Russian forces surrounding an air base in Belbek near Sevastopol, fired warning shots at Ukrainian servicemen trying to approach, a Ukrainian officer inside said.
The Ukrainian soldiers stopped and remained outside the air base, the officer Oleksey Khramov added by telephone.
At his press conference, Putin also denied that Russian forces took part in operations in autonomous Crimea.
“No, they did not participate,” he said. “There are lots of uniforms that look similar.”
The United States and its Western allies appear to have limited options in dealing with Putin, who is keen to bolster Russia’s sphere of influence with surrounding former Soviet Union nations.
Kerry will “reaffirm the United States’ strong support for Ukrainian sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and the right of the Ukrainian people to determine their own future, without outside interference or provocation,” the State Department said.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned there was no solution in sight after a “difficult” discussion in Geneva with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
“I can’t run up a flag to say that we are on the way to finding a solution and that Ukraine and Russia are about to start talking,” he added.
Wrong side of history
Washington announced a raft of tough sanctions against Russia Monday, suspending post-Cold War cooperation such as joint exercises, bilateral meetings, port visits and planning conferences.
US President Barack Obama on Monday accused the Kremlin of being on the “wrong side of history” on Ukraine by violating its sovereignty and international law.
Obama said Washington was “examining a whole series of steps — economic, diplomatic — that will isolate Russia”.
US officials announced a series of punitive measures designed to puncture Russia’s geopolitical prestige as well as military and economic ambitions.
But Lavrov, holding talks in Tunisia, said Tuesday the threats of sanctions were “counter-productive”.
The European Union is set to hold an emergency summit on Ukraine Thursday and Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk will meet EU leaders the same day.
EU foreign ministers on Monday condemned Russia’s “acts of aggression” in Ukraine and warned that ties were at risk unless Moscow de-escalates the crisis by Thursday’s summit.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is due to meet Lavrov in Madrid Tuesday and then go on to Kiev on Wednesday.
