WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry bluntly warned Russia Sunday that it risked losing its seat among the prestigious Group of Eight nations, as well as economic turmoil and sanctions, over the Ukraine crisis.
The top US diplomat hit the Sunday talk shows to ratchet up pressure on Moscow, after he convened a crisis conference call with European and Canadian foreign ministers and President Barack Obama held a 90-minute phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Saturday.
Washington and its G8 allies were prepared to slap sanctions on Moscow, Kerry said Sunday, warning of damage to billions of dollars in trade and investment in Russia, as well as possible visa bans and moves by American businesses to quit the country.
Sending troops into Ukraine’s southern Crimea region, which has historically had strong ties to Russia, was a “19th century act in the 21st century,” Kerry told ABC’s “This Week.”
Kiev’s interim leaders warned Sunday their country stood on the brink of disaster, and called up military reservists after the Russian parliament voted to allow Putin to send in troops to its western neighbour.
Putin “is not going to have a Sochi G8, he may not even remain in the G8 if this continues. He may find himself with asset freezes on Russian business, American business may pull back, there may be a further tumble of the ruble,” Kerry warned on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Britain, and France have already pulled out of preparatory meetings for the G8, and, along with the US and Canada, have threatened to boycott the June summit.
“Russia chose this brazen act of aggression and moved in its forces on a completely trumped up set of pretexts,” Kerry told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“If Russia wants to be a G8 country, it needs to behave like a G8 country.”
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Europe’s peace and security were at risk as he opened crisis talks of the military alliance in Brussels.
But Kerry steered clear of warning of any US military action as pro-Moscow gunmen controlled swaths of Ukraine’s southern Black Sea peninsula where the Kremlin has based naval fleets since the 18th century.
“The last thing anybody wants is a military option in this kind of situation. We want a peaceful resolution through the normal processes of international relations,” he told NBC.
“G8 prepared to go to the hilt”
Kerry again called on Putin to de-esclate tensions, saying “Russia and President Putin are aligning themselves with this kleptocracy” of ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych.
“I think this is an enormous mistake for Russia,” he added.
US lawmakers backed moves to suspend Russia’s membership of the G8, which it joined in 1998. The Sochi summit will only be the second time that Moscow has hosted the prestigious gathering.
“President Obama needs to do something,” Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, told CNN.
“How about this — suspend Russian membership in the G8 and the G20 at least for a year starting right now. For every day that they stay in Crimea, add to the suspension. Do something.”
Kerry insisted everything was on the table, including US economic sanctions, and urged Congress to work with the administration.
“The day will come where we will have to engage in that sort of activity. All options are on the table. No question but that Russia needs to understand this is serious,” he told ABC.
And he warned on CBS that “the G8 plus some others… are prepared to go to the hilt in order to isolate Russia with respect to this invasion.”
“They’re prepared to put sanctions in place, they’re prepared to isolate Russia economically, the ruble is already going down.”
Russia’s growth has already slowed to 1.3 per cent in 2013, down from 3.4 per cent the year before, and the ruble has lost more than eight per cent against the euro since the start of the year.
Russian banks are greatly exposed to cash-strapped Ukraine, and the Fitch ratings agency warned last week that the country’s state-owned financial institutions hold the bulk of total exposure of an estimated US$28 billion. – AFP