Russia says may act if sanctions remain

May 1st, 2014

Peter Nolan

Russia says it reserves the right to take appropriate action if the West continues its anti-Moscow moves with regard to the crisis in Ukraine.

Speaking at a news conference in the Chilean capital Santiago on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “We want to give our fellow governments the opportunity to calm down.”

Lavrov, however, noted that if the West continues its actions, then Russia would study the situation.

He added that Washington is not willing to find a solution for the Ukrainian crisis, saying, “The United States is not interested in the Ukraine crisis so much as they want to show things should work the way they say.”

The US and its allies have recently imposed new sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.

Tensions between the Western powers and Moscow over Ukraine heightened after Crimea declared independence from Kiev and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16, in which about 97 percent of Crimeans voted for reunion with Russia.

The move led to pro-Russian protests in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine. Kiev accuses Moscow of supporting the protesters, a claim which Moscow denies.

Moscow called on the US to force Kiev to halt its operation in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions. But the interim authorities in Kiev said they are ready to fight Russia.

Source