US will apply sectoral sanctions against Russia
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland says should the Donetsk and Luhansk separatist referendum occur and Russia follow up with recognition and the deployment of forces into the Ukrainian areas, "that will be a trigger" for sanctioning.
Should the Donetsk and Luhansk separatist referendum occur and Russia follow up with recognition and the deployment of forces into the Ukrainian areas, "that will be a trigger" for sanctioning the finance, energy and defense sectors of the Russian economy, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland. Nuland comments came at a hearing at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, as the Guardian reported on Wednesday.
Associated Press: 7. May 2014
Putin urges postponing eastern Ukraine referendum
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged that a planned May 11 referendum on autonomy in southeast Ukraine be postponed.
In a Wednesday meeting with Swiss president Didier Burkhalter, Putin also called on Ukraine's military to halt all operations against pro-Russia activists who have seized government buildings and police stations across at least a dozen towns in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian leader described Ukraine's upcoming presidential election — slated for May 25 — as a move "in the right direction," but repeated Russia's long-held stance that constitutional reforms must precede any nationwide vote in Ukraine.
Roman Lyagin, chairman of the Donetsk People's Republic election commission, told The Associated Press that Putin's remarks notwithstanding, plans for holding an autonomy referendum on May 11 remained unchanged.
In Berlin, a leading Ukrainian presidential candidate said he was prepared to negotiate a decentralization of power as pro-Russia insurgents in the east have demanded.
But Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate magnate, added that some insurgents in the eastern region understand only "the language of force."
The U.S. and European nations have increased diplomatic efforts ahead of Ukraine's May 25 presidential election as a pro-Russian insurgency continues to rock the country's eastern regions.
Russia and the West have expressed a desire for the OSCE to play a greater role in defusing the tensions in Ukraine.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague arrived in Kyiv to speak with the nation's leaders.
Speaking in a BBC interview, Hague lent his support to Ukraine's May 25 election.
Ukrainians "cannot be bullied out of having their elections by disorder that is deliberately fomented and coordinated from another country, in this instance Russia," he said.
Interfax Ukraine: 7. May 2014
"Donetsk People's Republic":
Referendum can be rescheduled
Donetsk Republic leadership'
Roman Liahin, the head of the Central Elections Commission of the Donetsk People's Republic, said he has not received any instructions to change the date of the referendum, but believes such a change is possible if the administration of the Donetsk People's Republic issues an appropriate order.
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