German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned Russia that it would suffer massive economic and political damage if it did not ease its hold on Ukraine.
Merkel told politicians at the German Bundestag Thursday that the European Union would impose sanctions if Russia refused to participate in diplomatic talks to end the Crimean crisis.
She said that if Russia continued its current course in Ukraine, the relationship between Russia and the European Union would be significantly changed.
Merkel also said that Ukraine’s territory lines were not up for discussion, referring to Sunday’s vote over the referendum to transfer Crimea to Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin retains that Russia has the right to act in Crimea, which has a largely ethnic Russian population in need of protection.
Photo source, The Telegraph
Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk is scheduled to meet with the United Nations Security Council in New York Thursday. US Senator John McCain and other US politicians will fly to Kiev to show solidarity with a government trying to preserve its country’s integrity.
