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Kerry to Visit Kiev to Show Support for Ukraine Kerry Plans to Visit Ukraine in Show of Support and Warns Russia of Penalties
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry plans to visit Kiev on Tuesday in a gesture of support for the new Ukrainian government, a senior United States official said on Sunday. WASHINGTON — As Western governments scrambled on Sunday to respond to the Russian military advance in Ukraine, Secretary of State John Kerry made plans to visit Kiev on Tuesday in a gesture of support for the new Ukrainian government, a senior American official said.
The announcement came just hours after Mr. Kerry warned that Russia risked eviction from the Group of 8 industrialized nations and that assets of Russian businesses could be frozen if the Kremlin did not reverse its military occupation of Crimea in Ukraine.The announcement came just hours after Mr. Kerry warned that Russia risked eviction from the Group of 8 industrialized nations and that assets of Russian businesses could be frozen if the Kremlin did not reverse its military occupation of Crimea in Ukraine.
Mr. Kerry had been scheduled to travel on Tuesday to an international meeting on Lebanon but will instead leave Washington on Monday for Ukraine, his first trip there as secretary of state. Mr. Kerry’s visit is part of the Obama administration strategy to increase the diplomatic and economic pressure on Russia.
Mr. Kerry will meet with senior Ukrainian leaders, and talk with the Parliament and civil society leaders, a senior official said. He will discuss measures to support Ukraine politically, the official said. So far, however, there is no indication that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has any intention to change course. American officials said on Sunday that Russian troops continued to enter Crimea to fortify the Russian position there.
Earlier Sunday, Mr. Kerry warned that if Russia continued its military campaign in Ukraine, the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, “is not going to have a Sochi G-8,” a reference to the meeting of the industrialized nations that Mr. Putin of Russia is to host in June. “He may not even remain in the G-8 if this continues.” “There is no question that they are in an occupation position in Crimea, that they are flying in reinforcements and they are settling in” a senior American official told reporters.
“He may find himself with asset freezes on Russian business,” Mr. Kerry added on an appearance on the NBC television program “Meet the Press.” “American business may pull back. There may be a further tumble of the ruble. There’s a huge price to pay.” The Obama administration’s strategy has been to present a united Western front with NATO and avoid casting the dispute as being mainly between Washington and Moscow.
Mr. Kerry’s comments came as the Obama administration and its Western allies tried to formulate their response to Mr. Putin’s decision to deploy Russian forces in Crimea. Outlining the American stance, Mr. Kerry warned that if Russia continued its military campaign in Ukraine, Mr. Putin was “not going to have a Sochi G-8,” a reference to the meeting of the industrialized nations that Russia is slated to host in June. “He may not even remain in the G-8 if this continues.”
President Obama has described the move as a “breach of international law.” But administration officials have been slow to enumerate what specific actions the United States and its partners are prepared to take. “There could even be, ultimately, asset freezes, visa bans,” Mr. Kerry added in an appearance on the NBC program “Meet the Press.” “There could be certainly disruption of any of the normal trade routine. There could be business drawback on investment in the country. The ruble is already going down and feeling the impact of this.”
While there appears to be little the Western partners can do over the next several weeks to reverse the Russian intervention, the United States’ response appears to be aimed at discouraging a further Russian push into eastern Ukraine or additional Russian pressure on Georgia and Moldova, two former Republics that, like Ukraine, have sought economic integration with the West. The Moldovan prime minister has meetings scheduled in Washington on Monday, and Georgia’s prime minister met there with American officials last week. At the same time, officials said, the Obama administration has been trying to provide Mr. Putin with an “off-ramp” by suggesting that international observers could take the place of Russian troops in Crimea to protect the rights of the Russian-speaking population there.
As for Crimea, the West is not contemplating military action, but diplomatic and economic measures to isolate Russia and raise the costs of its intervention. The other seven industrialized nations in the G-8 jointly condemned Russia’s intervention on Sunday as a “clear violation” of Ukraine’s sovereignty and joined the United States in suspending its preparation for the meeting in Sochi.
“This is an act of aggression,” Mr. Kerry said of Russia’s moves in the past few days. “It’s really 19th-century behavior in the 21st century.” But there appeared to be differences among Western nations about how forcefully to respond. When it comes to Russia’s role in the Group of 8, Mr. Kerry’s German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, delivered a different message.
“Russia has major investment and trade needs and desires,” he added. “There could even be, ultimately, asset freezes, visa bans. There could be certainly disruption of any of the normal trade routine. There could be business drawback on investment in the country. The ruble is already going down and feeling the impact of this.” “The format of the G-8 is actually the only one in which we in the West can speak directly with Russia,” Mr. Steinmeier told the German television network ARD.
Compounding American concern over the Russian intervention in Ukraine, Western officials said, are Kremlin efforts to mask its intentions. The tangible steps the Obama administration has taken so far are very limited. In addition to halting its involvement with preparations for the summit in Sochi, the United States canceled plans for officials to visit Russia next week to discuss a new trade agreement. It also suspended a visit by Russian officials to Washington to discuss energy issues. NATO has also moved cautiously. At a meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels, some nations were initially reluctant about condemning Russia until intelligence briefers explained the scope of the Kremlin’s intervention, according to a Western official.
Mr. Kerry spoke several times last week with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, who the secretary of state said had assured him that the snap military “exercise” Moscow announced had nothing to do with events in Ukraine. In the end, NATO issued a strongly worded statement Sunday condemning the intervention as a “breach of international law.” But the alliance has yet to determine if and how to reduce its cooperation with Russia and how to demonstrate its support for Ukraine.
But Russia began moving in reinforcements to the Sevastopol naval base on Thursday and Friday, mostly by sea from Novorossiysk and Anapa, according to a senior Western official, who asked not to be named because he was discussing intelligence information. Eric S. Edelman, who served as a senior Pentagon official during the administration of George W. Bush, suggested that one step NATO might take is to repeal its assurance to Moscow, made in 1997, that it would not increase its conventional combat power on the territory of its new Eastern European members.
But reviewing such assurances or considering new military steps is not yet on the alliance’s agenda, Western officials said.
Ukraine is the latest issue in a troubled relationship between Washington and Moscow.
After agreeing to co-host the Geneva peace talks on the civil war in Syria, the Russians have helped Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, reverse his fortunes on the battlefield by sending additional arms to Syria, Mr. Kerry has said.
On arms control, the Obama administration has raised concerns that Russia may be violating the 1987 agreement that bans medium-range missiles by flight testing a ground-launched cruise missile, so far to no avail.
Compounding American concern over the Russian intervention in Ukraine, Western officials said, are Kremlin efforts to mask its intentions. Mr. Kerry spoke several times last week with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, who Mr. Kerry said had assured him that the snap military “exercise” Moscow announced had nothing to do with events in Ukraine.
But Russia began moving in reinforcements to the Sevastopol naval base on Thursday and Friday, mostly by sea from Novorossiysk and Anapa, according to a senior Western official, who insisted on not being named because he was discussing intelligence information.
The operation began on Friday, well before Mr. Putin went to the Russian Parliament to seek approval for a military intervention in Ukraine. The initial operation involved thousands of troops, including Spetsnaz special forces, as well as specially trained marine and airborne units.The operation began on Friday, well before Mr. Putin went to the Russian Parliament to seek approval for a military intervention in Ukraine. The initial operation involved thousands of troops, including Spetsnaz special forces, as well as specially trained marine and airborne units.
In a parallel move, the Russians resumed building a border fence in South Ossetia, the breakaway Georgian region, as soon as the Olympic Games in Sochi ended, Georgia’s prime minister said in an interview.In a parallel move, the Russians resumed building a border fence in South Ossetia, the breakaway Georgian region, as soon as the Olympic Games in Sochi ended, Georgia’s prime minister said in an interview.
“Putin starts with a major advantage,” Nicholas Burns, the former United States ambassador to NATO, said in a conference call organized on Sunday by the Atlantic Council. “He has been very strategic and very decisive, and the Western countries are scrambling to catch up.” “Putin starts with a major advantage,” R. Nicholas Burns, a former United States ambassador to NATO, said in a conference call organized on Sunday by the Atlantic Council. “He has been very strategic and very decisive, and the Western countries are scrambling to catch up.”
Mr. Burns said that the West’s response needed to be diplomatic, not military-related. “The option has to be to try to outmaneuver Putin in what will likely turn out to be a very lengthy struggle over Ukraine,” he said.
Ukraine is the latest issue in a troubled relationship between Washington and Moscow. After agreeing to co-host the Geneva peace talks on the war in Syria, Mr. Kerry has said, the Russians have helped Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, reverse his fortunes on the battlefield by sending additional arms to Syria.
On arms control, the Obama administration has raised concerns that Russia may be violating the 1987 agreement that bans the production, testing and deployment of medium-range missiles, so far to avail.