Washington, April 18 (IANS) US President Barack Obama
Thursday spoke cautiously about an agreement on the Ukraine crisis and
warned that Russia could face additional sanctions if situation fails to
improve.
"I don't think we can be sure of anything at this point. I think
there is the possibility, the prospect that diplomacy may de-escalate
the situation," Xinhua quoted Obama as saying at a press conference at
the White House hours after a deal on Ukraine was reached following
four-way talks in Geneva.
The US, Russia, Ukraine, and the European Union concluded talks in
Geneva Thursday after signing a statement on the de-escalation of
tension in Ukraine. It says all sides must refrain from any violence,
intimidation or provocative actions as part of initial steps to restore
order in the country.
"All illegal armed groups must be disarmed; all illegally seized
buildings must be returned to legitimate owners," said the statement.
Obama said the question now is whether Russia will use the influence
that it has exerted "in a disruptive way to restore some order" in
Ukraine.
"My hope is that we actually do see follow-through over the next
several days, but I don't think, given past performance, that we can
count on that.
"We have put in place additional consequences that we can impose on
the Russians if we do not see actual improvement of the situation on the
ground," he said.
On Thursday, Obama discussed the development with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel. The leaders urged Russia to "use its influence over the
irregular forces in eastern Ukraine to get them to lay down their arms
and leave the buildings they have seized," said a statement issued by
the White House.
They also agreed that the US and Europe are prepared to take further
measures if this de-escalation does not occur "in short order".
US Vice President Joe Biden, in a telephone talk with Slovakian Prime
Minister Robert Fico on Thursday, said if Russia further escalated the
situation in Ukraine, it would face mounting consequences.
0 comments:
Post a Comment