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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| EU and US impose sanctions after Crimea vote |
| 2014-03-18 |
| [DAWN] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and the United States on Monday slapped sanctions on top Russians and Ukrainians deemed responsible for a breakaway vote in Crimea that has fanned the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War. Official results from Sunday's disputed referendum showed 96.77 per cent of voters in the mostly Russian-speaking region of Ukraine had opted for Kremlin rule in what would be the most radical redrawing of the map of Europe since Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia. Crimea's politicians on Monday formally asked to join Russia and vowed to disband Ukrainian military units stationed across the peninsula. Crimea has been under effective control of Russian troops and pro-Kremlin militia since the start of the month. Kiev and the West consider the secession vote to be illegitimate and the reaction from Brussels and Washington was both swift and tough. EU foreign ministers unveiled travel bans and asset freezes against 13 Russian officials and eight Ukrainian officials from Crimea. The 28-nation bloc did not name those sanctioned but Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius tweeted there would be "more EU measures in (a) few days". The 21 were officially targeted "for undermining the illusory sovereignty of Ukraine". The EU's punitive measures were followed minutes later by a White House announcement that it was imposing financial sanctions on seven top Russian government officials and politicians in reprisal for the Kremlin's incursion. "We have been guided by a fundamental principle," US President Barack Obama Because I won... said at the White House. "The future of Ukraine must be decided by the people of Ukraine. That means Ukraine's illusory sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected and international law must be upheld." The White House said Ukraine's ousted pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych and Crimea's self-declared premier Sergiy Aksyonov were both on the US list. The Russians targeted include upper house of parliament speaker Valentina Matviyenko and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, responsible for overseeing Russia's military and industrial sector. "These are clearly people who are very close to President (Vladimir) Putin," said one US official on condition of anonymity. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 And Pootie-Poot doesn't give a rat's ass. |
| Posted by: Barbara 2014-03-18 19:08 |
| #1 Putin's Next 4 Targets - Moldova Georgia Kazakhstan Belarus |
| Posted by: Victor Emmanuel Squank3982 2014-03-18 16:36 |