International
The European Union says it is freezing the financial assets in Europe of 18 people held responsible of misusing state funds in Ukraine.
The EU's 28 foreign ministers approved the list of names Wednesday. The identity of those targeted was withheld pending the official publication in the EU's legal journal Thursday, at which point the sanctions will be effective for the coming 12 months.
Officials say releasing the names could give those targeted a last chance to pull their assets out of the 28-nation bloc.
The ministers said the sanctions also contain provisions facilitating the recovery of the frozen funds for Ukraine's new government "once certain conditions are met."
Ukraine's new prime minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, has said Victor Yanukovich, the Russian-backed former president, embezzled as much as $37 billion during three years in office.
The EU announcement follows similar action to by Switzerland and Austria last week, and came just before EU leaders begin an emergency session in Brussels to decide what sorts of sanctions they can impose on Russia over its actions in Ukraine. Moscow has threatened to retaliate if any punitive measures are put in place.
The evening before the EU meeting, Crimea's new leader said pro-Russian forces numbering more than 11,000 controlled all access to Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and had blockaded all military bases that had not yet surrendered, according to The Associated Press.
The West has joined the new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev in demanding that Russia pull its forces from Crimea, but little progress was reported after a flurry of diplomatic activity in Paris on Wednesday involving U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Russia cannot order the "self-defense" forces in Ukraine's Crimea back to their bases because the troops do not answer to Moscow, Lavrov said on Wednesday, as Western diplomats met separately in Paris with Russian and Ukrainian officials in the first face-to-face talks aimed at warding off war in Ukraine.
Speaking in Madrid on Wednesday, Lavrov repeated Russia's assertion that armed men deployed there are not Russian forces and said that Russia's Black Sea naval personnel were in their normal positions. He also vowed to prevent bloodshed in Ukraine, including attacks against its own citizens.
"We will not allow bloodshed. We will not allow attempts against the lives and well-being of those who live in Ukraine and Russian citizens who live in Ukraine," Lavrov told a news conference before traveling to Paris to meet with Western diplomats.
After months of mass demonstrations in Kiev toppled former president and Russian ally Yanukovich, troops believed to be Russian took over Crimea on Saturday, placing forces around its ferry terminal, military bases and border posts. Russian President Vladimir Putin does not recognize the new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev, and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has accused them of an “armed mutiny.”
"As for bringing in forces, for now there is no such need, but such a possibility exists," Putin told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday. "What could serve as a reason to use military force? It would naturally be the last resort, absolutely the last."
But Ukraine’s new, pro-European government accuses Russia of preparing for a military invasion in Crimea. The uniformed troops do not wear Russian insignias, but Russia has repeatedly said that it reserved the right to intervene militarily to protect the majority ethnic-Russian population in Crimea.
In Paris on Wednesday, Kerry met with his British counterpart, William Hague, and Ukraine's interim foreign minister, Andriy Deshchytsia, to discuss implementation of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, under which Ukraine gave up the world's third largest store of nuclear weapons in exchange for assurances from the U.S., U.K., and Russia that they would not violate Ukrainian territory.
"Russia’s continued violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity can only degrade Russia’s international standing and lead to greater political and economic consequences," the State Department said in a press release.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko echoed calls for the signatories to the Budapest Memorandum to pressure Russia.
"The Kremlin has declared war not just on Ukraine, not just on Crimea, but on the whole world," said Tymoshenko, a longtime critic of Moscow who was jailed on corruption charges in 2011 and released as Ukraine's uprising gained traction last month. "The countries that signed the Budapest Memorandum need to demonstrate force, then the Kremlin will step back."
On Wednesday, Lavrov reiterated the Kremlin's stance that all parties in Ukraine should respect a Feb. 21 power-sharing agreement brokered by several foreign powers including the U.S. and Russia. That agreement, which called for early elections and the formation of an interim government under Yanukovich, fell by the wayside after the former president fled the country the night it was signed.
"We agreed that is necessary to help Ukrainians, all Ukrainians to fulfil the agreements that were reached February 21," Lavrov told reporters, although the State Department swiftly rejected the notion that Kerry had agreed to revert back to the agreement.
Lavrov did not meet with Ukrainian officials in Paris.
Though Russian troops have halted their progress over the past few days, a local spokesman for Ukraine's Defense Ministry told the Agence France-Presse news agency on Wednesday that forces had seized part of a Ukrainian missile-defense unit.
In Paris, the envoys from Russia, Ukraine, the U.S., Britain and France were not necessarily all at the same table on Wednesday, but French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said everyone had been working nonstop for a diplomatic solution over tensions in Ukraine.
"We have a principle of firmness but at the same time of searching for dialogue," Fabius said as he stood alongside his Ukrainian counterpart, who was making his first trip abroad in the new post.
Andrey Deshchitsa, Ukraine's interim foreign minister, was optimistic: "Today the Ukrainian future will be decided ... We want to keep neighborly relations with the Russian people. We want to settle this peacefully."
Ukraine is near bankruptcy, showing roughly $13 billion in debt this year. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced Wednesday that the European Union will offer the country an aid package worth around $15 billion. The EU aid comes in addition to $1 billion in aid promised by the U.S.
The U.S. package was announced on Tuesday while Kerry visited Kiev, where he said he spoke with Putin by phone and urged him to use diplomatic means to pursue Russia's interests.
Al Jazeera with wire services
"Russia’s continued violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity can only degrade Russia’s international standing and lead to greater political and economic consequences," the State Department said in a press release.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko echoed calls for the signatories to the Budapest Memorandum to pressure Russia.
"The Kremlin has declared war not just on Ukraine, not just on Crimea, but on the whole world," said Tymoshenko, a longtime critic of Moscow who was jailed on corruption charges in 2011 and released as Ukraine's uprising gained traction last month. "The countries that signed the Budapest Memorandum need to demonstrate force, then the Kremlin will step back."
After flying to Paris and meeting with Kerry and other Western diplomats later on Wednesday, Lavrov reiterated the Kremlin's stance that all parties in Ukraine should respect a Feb. 21 power-sharing agreement brokered by several foreign powers including the U.S. and Russia. That agreement, which called for early elections and the formation of an interim government under Yanukovich, fell by the wayside after the former president fled the country the night it was signed.
"We agreed that is necessary to help Ukrainians, all Ukrainians to fulfil the agreements that were reached February 21," Lavrov told reporters, although the State Department swiftly rejected the notion that Kerry had agreed to revert back to the agreement.
Lavrov did not meet with Ukrainian officials in Paris.
Though Russian troops have halted their progress over the past few days, a local spokesman for Ukraine's Defense Ministry told the Agence France-Presse news agency on Wednesday that forces had seized part of a Ukrainian missile-defense unit.
In Paris, the envoys from Russia, Ukraine, the U.S., Britain and France were not necessarily all at the same table, but French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said everyone had been working nonstop for a diplomatic solution over tensions in Ukraine.
"We have a principle of firmness but at the same time of searching for dialogue," Fabius said as he stood alongside his Ukrainian counterpart, who was making his first trip abroad in the new post.
Andrey Deshchitsa, Ukraine's interim foreign minister, was optimistic: "Today the Ukrainian future will be decided ... We want to keep neighborly relations with the Russian people. We want to settle this peacefully."
Ukraine is near bankruptcy, showing roughly $13 billion in debt this year. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced Wednesday that the European Union will offer the country an aid package worth around $15 billion. The EU aid comes in addition to $1 billion in aid promised by the U.S.
The U.S. package was announced on Tuesday while Secretary of State John Kerry visited Kiev, where he said he spoke with Putin by phone and urged him to use diplomatic means to pursue Russia's interests.
"It is clear that Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further," Kerry said at a press conference. "It is not appropriate to invade a country and at the end of a barrel of a gun dictate what you are trying to achieve. That is not 21st century, G-8, major-nation behavior."
Al Jazeera with wire services
"Russia’s continued violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity can only degrade Russia’s international standing and lead to greater political and economic consequences," the State Department said in a press release.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Wednesday, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko echoed calls for the signatories to the Budapest Memorandum to pressure Russia.
"The Kremlin has declared war not just on Ukraine, not just on Crimea, but on the whole world," said Tymoshenko, a longtime critic of Moscow who was jailed on corruption charges in 2011 and released as Ukraine's uprising gained traction last month. "The countries that signed the Budapest Memorandum need to demonstrate force, then the Kremlin will step back."
After flying to Paris and meeting with Kerry and other Western diplomats later on Wednesday, Lavrov reiterated the Kremlin's stance that all parties in Ukraine should respect a Feb. 21 power-sharing agreement brokered by several foreign powers including the U.S. and Russia. That agreement, which called for early elections and the formation of an interim government under Yanukovich, fell by the wayside after the former president fled the country the night it was signed.
"We agreed that is necessary to help Ukrainians, all Ukrainians to fulfil the agreements that were reached February 21," Lavrov told reporters, although the State Department swiftly rejected the notion that Kerry had agreed to revert back to the agreement.
Lavrov did not meet with Ukrainian officials in Paris.
Though Russian troops have halted their progress over the past few days, a local spokesman for Ukraine's Defense Ministry told the Agence France-Presse news agency on Wednesday that forces had seized part of a Ukrainian missile-defense unit.
In Paris, the envoys from Russia, Ukraine, the U.S., Britain and France were not necessarily all at the same table, but French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said everyone had been working nonstop for a diplomatic solution over tensions in Ukraine.
"We have a principle of firmness but at the same time of searching for dialogue," Fabius said as he stood alongside his Ukrainian counterpart, who was making his first trip abroad in the new post.
Andrey Deshchitsa, Ukraine's interim foreign minister, was optimistic: "Today the Ukrainian future will be decided ... We want to keep neighborly relations with the Russian people. We want to settle this peacefully."
Ukraine is near bankruptcy, showing roughly $13 billion in debt this year. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced Wednesday that the European Union will offer the country an aid package worth around $15 billion. The EU aid comes in addition to $1 billion in aid promised by the U.S.
The U.S. package was announced on Tuesday while Secretary of State John Kerry visited Kiev, where he said he spoke with Putin by phone and urged him to use diplomatic means to pursue Russia's interests.
"It is clear that Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further," Kerry said at a press conference. "It is not appropriate to invade a country and at the end of a barrel of a gun dictate what you are trying to achieve. That is not 21st century, G-8, major-nation behavior."
Al Jazeera with wire services
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