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| Crimea Approves a Secession Vote as Tensions Rise | Crimea Approves a Secession Vote as Tensions Rise |
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| SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — The volatile confrontation over the future of Ukraine took another tense turn on Thursday as Russian allies in Crimea sought annexation by Moscow and the United States imposed its first sanctions on Russian officials involved in the military occupation of the strategic peninsula. | |
| While diplomats raced from meeting to meeting in an effort to end the standoff, European leaders signaled they might join American sanctions and Moscow threatened countermeasures as an already jittery situation was made edgier by the opening of new Russian military drills. | While diplomats raced from meeting to meeting in an effort to end the standoff, European leaders signaled they might join American sanctions and Moscow threatened countermeasures as an already jittery situation was made edgier by the opening of new Russian military drills. |
| The pro-Russia regional Parliament in Crimea crossed another line set by the United States and Europe by voting to hold a referendum on whether to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia. It scheduled the vote for March 16, hoping to win popular approval for the Russian military seizure of the region. But the authorities in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, backed by the United States and Europe, denounced the move. | The pro-Russia regional Parliament in Crimea crossed another line set by the United States and Europe by voting to hold a referendum on whether to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia. It scheduled the vote for March 16, hoping to win popular approval for the Russian military seizure of the region. But the authorities in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, backed by the United States and Europe, denounced the move. |
| Hours after issuing his first punitive actions against specific Russians, President Obama reached out to President Vladimir V. Putin in an hourlong telephone call emphasizing a diplomatic settlement. Mr. Obama urged Mr. Putin to authorize direct talks with Ukraine’s new pro-Western government, permit the entry of international monitors and return his forces here to their bases, according to the White House. | Hours after issuing his first punitive actions against specific Russians, President Obama reached out to President Vladimir V. Putin in an hourlong telephone call emphasizing a diplomatic settlement. Mr. Obama urged Mr. Putin to authorize direct talks with Ukraine’s new pro-Western government, permit the entry of international monitors and return his forces here to their bases, according to the White House. |
| “Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine,” Mr. Obama said in his only public remarks on the crisis on Thursday. “In 2014, we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders.” | “Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine,” Mr. Obama said in his only public remarks on the crisis on Thursday. “In 2014, we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders.” |
| Early Friday, the Kremlin released a statement describing the phone call. “In the course of the discussion there emerged differences in approaches and assessments of the causes which brought about the current crisis and the resulting state of affairs,” the statement said. “Vladimir Putin, for his part, noted that this had occurred as a result of an anticonstitutional coup which does not have a national mandate.” | |
| It went on to say that the current Ukrainian leadership has imposed “absolutely illegitimate decisions” on the eastern and southeastern regions of the country. “Russia cannot ignore appeals connected to this, calls for help, and acts appropriately, in accordance with international law,” the statement said. Mr. Putin, the statement said, appreciated the importance of the Russian-American relationship to global security, and added that bilateral ties “should not be sacrificed for individual — albeit rather important — international problems.” | |
| European Union leaders issued a statement in Brussels calling an annexation referendum “contrary to the Ukrainian Constitution and therefore illegal.” | European Union leaders issued a statement in Brussels calling an annexation referendum “contrary to the Ukrainian Constitution and therefore illegal.” |
| The sanctions Mr. Obama approved Thursday imposed visa bans on officials and other individuals deemed responsible for undermining Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. The administration would not disclose the names or number of people penalized, but a senior official said privately that it would affect just under a dozen people, mostly Russians but some Ukrainians. | The sanctions Mr. Obama approved Thursday imposed visa bans on officials and other individuals deemed responsible for undermining Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. The administration would not disclose the names or number of people penalized, but a senior official said privately that it would affect just under a dozen people, mostly Russians but some Ukrainians. |
| Among those targeted were political figures, policy advisers, security officials and military officers who played a direct role in the Crimean crisis, the official said. Any of them seeking to travel to the United States would be barred, and a few who currently hold American visas will have them revoked. | |
| Mr. Obama also signed an executive order laying out a framework for tougher measures like freezing the assets of individuals and institutions. But the White House held back applying those measures while officials gathered evidence in the hope that waiting would provide some space for Russia to reverse course. The House, in the meantime, approved an economic aid package for the Kiev government and advanced its own sanctions resolution. | Mr. Obama also signed an executive order laying out a framework for tougher measures like freezing the assets of individuals and institutions. But the White House held back applying those measures while officials gathered evidence in the hope that waiting would provide some space for Russia to reverse course. The House, in the meantime, approved an economic aid package for the Kiev government and advanced its own sanctions resolution. |
| Moscow, however, gave no indication of backing down, suggesting that it would reciprocate with measures seizing American property in Russia. “The U.S. has the right, and we have the right to respond to it,” Vladimir Lukin, a Russian envoy who has worked on the Ukrainian crisis, told Interfax, a Russian news agency. “But all that is, of course, not making me happy.” | Moscow, however, gave no indication of backing down, suggesting that it would reciprocate with measures seizing American property in Russia. “The U.S. has the right, and we have the right to respond to it,” Vladimir Lukin, a Russian envoy who has worked on the Ukrainian crisis, told Interfax, a Russian news agency. “But all that is, of course, not making me happy.” |
| The European Union took a step toward more serious measures by suspending talks with Moscow on a wide-ranging political-economic pact and on liberalizing visa requirements to make it easier for Russians to travel to Europe. European leaders laid out a three-stage process that, absent progress, would next move to travel bans, asset seizures and the cancellation of a planned European Union-Russia summit meeting and eventually to broader economic measures. | The European Union took a step toward more serious measures by suspending talks with Moscow on a wide-ranging political-economic pact and on liberalizing visa requirements to make it easier for Russians to travel to Europe. European leaders laid out a three-stage process that, absent progress, would next move to travel bans, asset seizures and the cancellation of a planned European Union-Russia summit meeting and eventually to broader economic measures. |
| Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who has been reluctant to move quickly toward sanctions, said the European Union was looking for concrete evidence that Russia was trying to calm the situation “in the next few days,” but she noted that Thursday’s events in Crimea made the need for action more urgent. | Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who has been reluctant to move quickly toward sanctions, said the European Union was looking for concrete evidence that Russia was trying to calm the situation “in the next few days,” but she noted that Thursday’s events in Crimea made the need for action more urgent. |
| “We made it very clear that we are absolutely willing to achieve matters by negotiation,” she said. “We also say, however, that we are ready and willing, if these hopes were to be dashed and looking at what happened on Crimea, to adopt sanctions.” | “We made it very clear that we are absolutely willing to achieve matters by negotiation,” she said. “We also say, however, that we are ready and willing, if these hopes were to be dashed and looking at what happened on Crimea, to adopt sanctions.” |
| The moves came as Secretary of State John Kerry met for a second day with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on ways to defuse the crisis. A top aide said Mr. Kerry urged Mr. Lavrov to talk directly with Ukrainian leaders. “We want to be able to have the dialogue that leads to the de-escalation,” Mr. Kerry told reporters. “We want to be able to continue the intense discussions with both sides in order to try to normalize and end this crisis.” | The moves came as Secretary of State John Kerry met for a second day with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on ways to defuse the crisis. A top aide said Mr. Kerry urged Mr. Lavrov to talk directly with Ukrainian leaders. “We want to be able to have the dialogue that leads to the de-escalation,” Mr. Kerry told reporters. “We want to be able to continue the intense discussions with both sides in order to try to normalize and end this crisis.” |
| Mr. Kerry also met in Rome with counterparts from Germany, France, Italy and Britain, and expressed support for a push by Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, to establish a “contact group” seeking a peaceful resolution of the crisis. The group would include Russia, Ukraine, Britain, France and the United States, and serve as a way to bring Moscow and Kiev to the table. | Mr. Kerry also met in Rome with counterparts from Germany, France, Italy and Britain, and expressed support for a push by Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, to establish a “contact group” seeking a peaceful resolution of the crisis. The group would include Russia, Ukraine, Britain, France and the United States, and serve as a way to bring Moscow and Kiev to the table. |
| Mr. Lavrov expressed irritation at talk of sanctions and other retaliation. “There are many one-sided, half-hysterical evaluations in the media,” he told reporters. “I repeated this to John Kerry, who seems to understand that it doesn’t really help the flow of normal work. It’s impossible to work honestly under the threat of ultimatums and sanctions.” | Mr. Lavrov expressed irritation at talk of sanctions and other retaliation. “There are many one-sided, half-hysterical evaluations in the media,” he told reporters. “I repeated this to John Kerry, who seems to understand that it doesn’t really help the flow of normal work. It’s impossible to work honestly under the threat of ultimatums and sanctions.” |
| In Crimea, regional leaders said they were confident voters would choose Russia over Ukraine. The City Council of Sevastopol, which has separate legal status, took matching steps on Thursday to hold a similar referendum on March 16. Pro-Russia demonstrators cheered the news and regarded secession from Ukraine as a foregone conclusion. | In Crimea, regional leaders said they were confident voters would choose Russia over Ukraine. The City Council of Sevastopol, which has separate legal status, took matching steps on Thursday to hold a similar referendum on March 16. Pro-Russia demonstrators cheered the news and regarded secession from Ukraine as a foregone conclusion. |
| “We’re already Russian,” Natasha Malachuk said as she picketed a local security headquarters. | “We’re already Russian,” Natasha Malachuk said as she picketed a local security headquarters. |
| Others objected, particularly the peninsula’s large Crimean Tatar minority. “It’s completely illegitimate,” said Bilal Kuzi-Emin, 25, a Tatar who works as a waiter. | |
| A Kiev court has already ruled the Crimean Parliament’s actions illegal. An arrest warrant has been issued for the new regional prime minister, Sergei Aksyonov, who was installed a week ago after armed men seized the Parliament building and raised the Russian flag. | A Kiev court has already ruled the Crimean Parliament’s actions illegal. An arrest warrant has been issued for the new regional prime minister, Sergei Aksyonov, who was installed a week ago after armed men seized the Parliament building and raised the Russian flag. |
| Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, scoffed at a planned referendum under the watch of foreign troops. “This will be a farce,” he said in a televised address. “This will be false. This will be a crime against the state.” | Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, scoffed at a planned referendum under the watch of foreign troops. “This will be a farce,” he said in a televised address. “This will be false. This will be a crime against the state.” |
| Dmitri S. Peskov, a spokesman for Mr. Putin, said the Kremlin had been informed of the developments but offered no further comment. Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev said Russia would simplify procedures for people who have lived in Russia or the former Soviet Union to secure Russian citizenship. | Dmitri S. Peskov, a spokesman for Mr. Putin, said the Kremlin had been informed of the developments but offered no further comment. Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev said Russia would simplify procedures for people who have lived in Russia or the former Soviet Union to secure Russian citizenship. |
| If the referendum is held and most Crimeans opt to join Russia, it could create a thorny problem for the United States and European countries that typically support self-determination but oppose independence for regions in their own borders, like Scotland or Catalonia. | |
| In Crimea, Russian and pro-Russia forces maintained a blockade of Ukrainian military facilities. At a local military office in Simferopol, they used a crane to place heavy concrete barriers to obstruct military vehicles leaving the compound. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the Russian Navy scuttled an old cruiser in a narrow channel to trap Ukrainian naval vessels in port at Novoozerne. | In Crimea, Russian and pro-Russia forces maintained a blockade of Ukrainian military facilities. At a local military office in Simferopol, they used a crane to place heavy concrete barriers to obstruct military vehicles leaving the compound. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the Russian Navy scuttled an old cruiser in a narrow channel to trap Ukrainian naval vessels in port at Novoozerne. |
| In Donetsk, in the east, Ukrainian police officers ordered pro-Moscow demonstrators, including Pavel Gubarev, the so-called people’s governor, to leave the city’s administration building. Hundreds more pro-Russia demonstrators clashed with the police outside the local headquarters of the national security service in Donetsk, blockading a police bus with parked cars and derailed trolleys and forcing the police to release detained protesters. Later on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said Mr. Gubarev had been arrested. | In Donetsk, in the east, Ukrainian police officers ordered pro-Moscow demonstrators, including Pavel Gubarev, the so-called people’s governor, to leave the city’s administration building. Hundreds more pro-Russia demonstrators clashed with the police outside the local headquarters of the national security service in Donetsk, blockading a police bus with parked cars and derailed trolleys and forcing the police to release detained protesters. Later on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said Mr. Gubarev had been arrested. |