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Obama in Europe with Ukraine high on agenda; Kiev orders Crimea withdrawal Obama, allies boycott Group of Eight, in effect suspending Russia
(about 1 hour later)
THE HAGUE — President Obama and the leaders of six allied nations agreed Monday to boycott a planned Group of Eight summit meeting in Russia in June, effectively isolating the government of Russian President Vladi­mir Putin over his military intervention in Ukraine. THE HAGUE — The world’s major industrial nations on Monday effectively suspended Russia indefinitely from the Group of Eight and warned that they would impose stronger economic sanctions against Moscow if President Vladi­mir Putin expands his military intervention in Ukraine.
The decision, spelled out in a joint communique called The Hague Declaration, came after Obama urged the leaders of major industrial nations Monday to indefinitely suspend Russia from the Group of Eight and pushed members to more explicitly spell out what additional economic sanctions Putin will face. The decision followed a push by President Obama for a united stand by wealthy nations against what he has called Russia’s violation of international law with the annexation of Crimea this month. Obama and the leaders of six allied nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain — agreed Monday to boycott a planned G-8 summit meeting in Sochi, Russia, in June, effectively isolating Putin. Instead, they said they would convene as the Group of Seven in Brussels during the same time frame.
In the joint statement issued after a meeting in this Dutch city, Obama and the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain agreed not to participate in the G-8 summit scheduled for Sochi, Russia, in June and to meet instead as the Group of Seven in Brussels in the same time frame. “As long as it is flagrantly violating international law and the order the G-7 has helped build since the end of the Cold War, there is no reason to engage with Russia,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. “What Russia has done has been a violation of that entire international order built up over many decades.”
The statement condemned as “illegal” a March 16 Crimean referendum in which residents of the pro-Russian region voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the Russian Federation. “We also strongly condemn Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations,” the statement said. “We do not recognize either.” But Russia dismissed the move as unimportant. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, here representing Putin at the Nuclear Security Summit, told reporters that “if our Western partners believe the format has exhausted itself, we don’t cling to this format.”
“We don’t believe it will be a big problem if it doesn’t convene,” Lavrov said. “The G-8 is an informal club. No one hands out membership cards, and no one can be kicked out of it.”
In a joint statement issued after their meeting Monday, the allied leaders condemned as “illegal” a March 16 Crimean referendum in which residents of the pro-Russian region voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the Russian Federation. “We also strongly condemn Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations,” the statement said. “We do not recognize either.”
Calling Russia’s actions “a serious challenge to the rule of law around the world,” the seven leaders agreed: “Under these circumstances, we will not participate in the planned Sochi Summit. We will suspend our participation in the G-8 until Russia changes course and the environment comes back to where the G-8 is able to have a meaningful discussion.”Calling Russia’s actions “a serious challenge to the rule of law around the world,” the seven leaders agreed: “Under these circumstances, we will not participate in the planned Sochi Summit. We will suspend our participation in the G-8 until Russia changes course and the environment comes back to where the G-8 is able to have a meaningful discussion.”
As long as Russia is flagrantly violating international law and the order that major powers have constructed since the end of the Cold War, “there is no reason to engage with Russia,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. “What Russia has done has been a violation of that entire international order built up over many decades.” The warned that they “remain ready to intensify actions . . . if Russia continues to escalate this situation.”
The meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit here was the first of several sessions that Obama is attending with European allies and others over how to persuade Putin, once interested in further integrating Russia into the global economy, to pull forces back from eastern Ukraine and begin a dialogue with the Kiev government to resolve the crisis in Crimea.The meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit here was the first of several sessions that Obama is attending with European allies and others over how to persuade Putin, once interested in further integrating Russia into the global economy, to pull forces back from eastern Ukraine and begin a dialogue with the Kiev government to resolve the crisis in Crimea.
Putin, though, has shown little interest in doing so. On Monday, Ukrainian leaders ordered their forces to leave Crimea under threat from Russian troops. But Obama’s three-country tour of Europe, where longtime concerns over Russia’s ambitions beyond Crimea are growing, began against the backdrop of Putin’s public defiance of Western sanctions and the warning of broader ones to come.
Top Ukrainian and NATO officials expressed worry Sunday about the prospect of an intensifying conflict. On Monday, Ukrainian leaders ordered their forces to leave Crimea under threat from Russian troops, a move U.S. officials here called responsible given the situation’s volatility. Russia’s military consolidation on the Black Sea peninsula follows Putin’s formal annexation of it, a move not recognized internationally.
In an interview with Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant ahead of the trip, Obama said the United States and its allies need to be prepared to go even further if the situation gets worse, news services reported.
“If Russia continues to escalate the situation, we need to be prepared to impose a greater cost,” he said.
Obama’s meetings in the Netherlands include a session with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, as well as with allies in the Group of Seven. The group, formed to coordinate policy among the world’s major free-market democracies, was expanded to include Russia in the late 1990s as the country undertook market reforms following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
But even with the nuclear summit drawing the world’s leaders, Putin is not attending, and Obama’s push would further isolate him internationally.
Whether that has an impact, however, remains to be seen. Ukrainian interim President Oleksandr Turchynov said Monday in the national parliament that he had told his Defense Ministry to issue withdrawal orders for any remaining Ukrainian military personnel in Crimea, the disputed region where government installations have steadily fallen into Russian hands.
Russian troops are now in control of the entire Ukrainian marine base at Feodosia, said a Defense Ministry official, and two senior commanders have been taken into custody.
Russian troops stormed the facility, home to a well-trained and armed force, in the early morning hours, firing automatic weapons and using stun grenades, said Vladislav Seleznyov, a Defense Ministry spokesman. Some of the marines had their hands bound, he said, and 80 to 100 have been gathered together in one spot.
Seleznyov said the Russians flew commander Dmitri Deliatizkii and his deputy, Rostilav Lomtev, off the base in a helicopter. Service members in Crimea said Monday afternoon that the orders had not yet reached them.
The commander of a Ukrainian base in Belbek, Yuli Mamchur, has been held by Russians since his base was stormed Saturday. Ukrainian television has reported that he is believed to be held in a jail in the port city of Sevastopol.
“We are military people, and we act on orders,” Seleznyov said by telephone. “When we get orders, we will know where we go and what we’ll take with us.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Sunday that its troops have taken control of 189 Ukrainian bases and facilities in Crimea. It is not clear how many, if any, still have a Ukrainian flag flying.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Crimea Monday, according to Russian press reports, and met with the region’s leaders.
With Crimea now fully in Russian hands, both sides have looked toward economic and diplomatic tools to pressure the other.With Crimea now fully in Russian hands, both sides have looked toward economic and diplomatic tools to pressure the other.
In his talks in Europe, Obama is likely to focus on ways to enforce and perhaps stiffen economic sanctions already announced against Moscow, and to develop a package of economic and financial support for the Ukrainian government. In his talks here and with European Union officials Wednesday in Brussels, Obama is working to develop a package of economic and financial support for Ukraine’s new pro-Western government, which took power in February after a protest movement ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. The U.S. aid bill is making its way through the Senate, although it is meeting resistance.
Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said pensions for Crimeans would be raised to Russian levels, a decision that will cost the Russian treasury about $1 billion this year. He also said Crimea may be turned into a special economic zone where enterprises would be exempt from taxes until 2015.Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said pensions for Crimeans would be raised to Russian levels, a decision that will cost the Russian treasury about $1 billion this year. He also said Crimea may be turned into a special economic zone where enterprises would be exempt from taxes until 2015.
The starkest warning about further Russian ambitions came from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya, who said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” that the prospect of war with Russia is growing.The starkest warning about further Russian ambitions came from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya, who said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” that the prospect of war with Russia is growing.
“We don’t know what Putin has in his mind and what would be his decision,” Deshchytsya said. “That’s why this situation is becoming even more explosive than it used to be a week ago.”“We don’t know what Putin has in his mind and what would be his decision,” Deshchytsya said. “That’s why this situation is becoming even more explosive than it used to be a week ago.”
In Brussels, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, said Russia has assembled a large force on Ukraine’s eastern border that could be planning to head for Moldova’s separatist Transnistria region, more than 300 miles away. U.S. officials accompanying Obama warned that any additional Russian moves into eastern Ukraine or Moldova’s separatist Transnistria region would represent “a dangerous escalation” of the crisis.
Ukrainian officials have been warning for weeks that Russia is trying to provoke a conflict in eastern Ukraine, a charge that Russia denies. But Breedlove said Russian ambitions do not stop there. Obama used the nuclear forum, which he inaugurated four years ago in Washington, to rally support for stronger sanctions against Russia in his bid to isolate the country economically and politically in response to its move into Ukraine.
“There is absolutely sufficient force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Transnistria if the decision was made to do that, and that is very worrisome,” Breedlove said. European officials have worried about potential repercussions from Putin should they tighten sanctions in a way that targets specific segments of the Russian economy, including its energy and banking sectors.
A drive into Transnistria would mark an extraordinary deepening of Russia’s military thrust into former Soviet territory and sharply escalate tensions with the West. Transnistria, a narrow strip of land about the size of Rhode Island that is wedged between the rest of Moldova and southern Ukraine, proclaimed its independence in 1990. Its population went on to vote in 2006 to seek eventual unification with Russia. Several European nations import more than 90 percent of their energy from Russia, which has used natural gas exports to apply political pressure in the past.
Although those moves were not recognized internationally, the region has its own constitution and currency, and pro-Russian sentiment there runs high. About 1,200 Russian troops are stationed in the territory — fewer than were in Crimea, the site of a key Russian naval base, before the current crisis began. Putin has shown no sign of reconsidering his move into Crimea. Obama believes that only extending sanctions beyond individuals close to the Russian leader can force talks toward a political solution in Crimea and dissuade Putin from moving deeper into Ukraine.
In Washington, a senior Defense Department official said it was “difficult to know what [Russia’s] intent is; they’re not exactly being transparent.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities. “If Russia continues to escalate the situation, we need to be prepared to impose a greater cost,” he said in an interview with Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant ahead of the trip.
During a conversation Thursday, Shoigu, the Russian defense minister, assured U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that Russian troops on the Ukrainian border were merely conducting a regular “spring” exercise and that Russia had no intention of sending the forces across the international line, the U.S. official said. Before his evening session with G-7 allies, Obama met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is attending the nuclear summit. China is the only veto-holding member of the U.N. Security Council to abstain from voting on a recent resolution condemning Putin's annexation of Crimea.
But at the same time, the official said, “they have enough troops close enough and, most likely, ready enough that we would have very little notice” if they decided to move farther outside Russia. U.S. officials said Obama made the case to Xi that he should remain neutral or support sanctions against Russia, given independence sentiments in Tibet and China's interest in discouraging the kind of popular vote that took place in Crimea.
Russian news services quoted Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov as saying Sunday that Russia is complying with all international agreements on troop limits near its border with Ukraine. “Russia cares about its standing in the world,” Rhodes said. “And it matters if traditional friends cannot express support for its actions.”
In Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, members of a visiting U.S. congressional delegation said Ukrainian officials were determined to prevent any further Russian incursion into their territory. Leaders of the G-7 convened here at the official residence of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who then withdrew because he is not a member of the grouping.
“This would be no Crimea,” Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) said at a news conference, adding that Putin would find himself having to explain why young Russian men were coming home in coffins. “Ukraine is ready to fight.” The G-7, formed to coordinate policy among the world’s major free-market democracies, was expanded to include Russia in the late 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the start of market reforms.
Putin did not attend to nuclear summit, sending Lavrov in his place. Lavrov and Secretary of State John F. Kerry met for an hour Monday, and in one potentially hopeful sign, Lavrov also met with Deshchytsya, the Ukrainian foreign minister.
Russian officials had refused to meet with officials of the Ukrainian government, calling it illegitimate for taking power in what they call a coup. Whether the meeting can help de-escalate an increasingly dangerous situation was not immediately clear.
On Monday, Ukrainian interim president Oleksandr Turchynov said in the national parliament that he had told his Defense Ministry to issue withdrawal orders for any remaining military personnel in Crimea, where government installations have steadily fallen into Russian hands.
Russian troops are now in control of the entire Ukrainian marine base at Feodosia, said a Defense Ministry official, and two senior commanders have been taken into custody.
Russian troops stormed the facility, home to a well-trained and armed force, in the early morning hours, firing automatic weapons and using stun grenades, said Vladislav Seleznyov, a Defense Ministry spokesman. Some of the Ukrainian marines had their hands bound, he said, and 80 to 100 have been gathered together in one spot.
Seleznyov said the Russians flew commander Dmitri Deliatizkii and his deputy, Rostilav Lomtev, off the base in a helicopter. Service members in Crimea said Monday afternoon that the orders had not yet reached them.
The commander of a Ukrainian base in Belbek, Yuli Mamchur, has been held by Russians since his base was stormed Saturday. Ukrainian television has reported that he is believed to be held in a jail in the port city of Sevastopol.
“We are military people, and we act on orders,” Seleznyov said by telephone. “When we get orders, we will know where we go and what we’ll take with us.”
Morello reported from Simferopol, Crimea. Will Englund in Moscow and Karen DeYoung and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.Morello reported from Simferopol, Crimea. Will Englund in Moscow and Karen DeYoung and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.