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                Kerry Warns Russia of Economic Costs on Ukraine

   by VOA News

   Secretary of State John Kerry issued a strong warning to Russia late
   Thursday saying if Moscow continues to escalate the crisis in Ukraine,
   it will pay a steep economic cost for its actions.
   Speaking to reporters at the State Department Kerry said one week after
   the Geneva agreement on de-escalating tensions in Ukraine, Russia has
   chosen an illegitimate course of violence, creating chaos to
   deligitimize upcoming elections.  He said Russia took similar actions
   in Crimea before its eventual annexation.
   By contrast Kerry said the government of Ukraine had made good on its
   commitments to constitutional reform and has addressed concerns
   expressed by Russia.
   Kerry said Russia has made no calls to separatists to heed the
   agreement and has orgnized a massive propaganda effort designed to
   distort what is happening.
   Meanwhile At the United Nations, diplomats say Russia has recalled its
   ambassador to Moscow for emergency consultations.
   Word of the recall came a short while after Moscow accused the Kyiv
   government of deploying military units and ultra-nationalist
   paramilitary units against the largely Russian-speaking population in
   eastern Ukraine.  A Foreign Ministry statement referred to Ukrainian
   authorities as "under the patronage of the United States."  It also
   said the situation demands "urgent action" by Washington to ensure the
   withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the region.
   The flurry of diplomatic exchanges capped a day of rising tensions
   along the Ukraine-Russian border, where a huge Russian military force
   is gathered.  A Ukrainian diplomat at the United Nations told VOA that
   Moscow has doubled its military presence on the border to about 80,000
   troops.
   Russian President Vladimir Putin called the offensive by Kyiv a "crime"
   and threatened "consequences."
   Ukrainian authorities earlier this week relaunched an "anti-terrorist"
   operation against armed pro-Russians who have taken over government
   buildings in nearly a dozen eastern cities and towns. Some of the
   separatists are demanding referendums on whether to secede from Ukraine
   and join Russia.
   Ukraine's government, along with the U.S. and others in the West, sees
   an undercover campaign by Russia aimed at creating a pretext for
   possible incursion followed by a Crimea-style annexation of some
   regions.
   Earlier, President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters Thursday in
   Tokyo, Japan, accused Russia is not abiding by the Geneva agreement to
   ease the crisis in Ukraine, saying he is not hopeful Moscow will
   cooperate.
   Obama said new sanctions are "teed up" but did not specify when they
   could be applied, saying only that it was a matter of days, not weeks.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/kerry-warns-russia-on-ukraine-/1900655.html