Putin threatens to cut gas to Kyiv
DONETSK, UKRAINE • Vladimir Putin mocked diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine crisis Friday as Russia threatened to disrupt European gas supplies by cutting off sales to Kyiv over its unpaid debts.
The Russian president’s official spokesman said despite deep disagreements with the West, he did not want a confrontation over Ukraine to spiral into a “new cold war.”
Nevertheless, Dmitry Peskov ridiculed Western demands for direct talks between the Kremlin and the new Kyiv government, claiming the loss of credibility involved “puts a smile on our face.”
The White House brushed off Russia’s threat to disrupt gas exports as less of a blow for European Union economies than in previous years. Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said any reductions would not have an immediate effect since stocks in Europe were above normal levels because of a mild winter. Structural changes in the industry also mean less of Europe’s gas went through Ukraine.
Russian foreign ministry officials issued the tit-for-tat warnings a day after an EU summit suspended talks on visa-free access for Russians to Europe and threatened sanctions if Moscow did not change course.
“Russia will not accept the language of sanctions and threats,” a foreign ministry statement said.
Moscow displayed no signs of pulling back in the flashpoint region of Crimea despite the summit outcome and a subsequent telephone conversation between Mr. Putin and President Barack Obama.
Russia’s parliament made preparations to endorse next week’s referendum in Crimea on joining the Russian Federation as Crimean MPs were accorded a heroes’ welcome in Moscow.
Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, said the outcome would be accepted “unquestionably.”
She compared the Crimea succession vote to a scheduled referendum in Scotland on whether to become independent from Britain, omitting the fact London has agreed to the ballot.
Ukraine’s new interim leaders have fiercely opposed splintering the country. Officials in Kyiv retorted no country in the “civilized world” would recognize a vote for merging with Russia.
In Crimea, checkpoints manned by Russian soldiers and local militias blocked efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to enter the peninsula. Its convoy, including two buses carrying the observers, returned to Kherson, southern Ukraine, to decide if the unarmed monitoring mission can go ahead at all.
Russia said it was blocked because it had begun without seeking the traditional consensus support from all the organization’s members.
Russia also scuttled a third ship in the Crimean harbour of Donuzlav to tighten its blockade on the doggedly loyal Ukrainian navy vessels trapped behind Russian lines.
According to reports, armed men — thought to be Russians — drove a truck into a Ukrainian military base in Sevastopol and took control without a shot being fired.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine prime minister, said his government was still pressing for direct talks with Russia to resolve the crisis. He demanded Russia pull back its forces and stop supporting “separatist” activities inside Ukraine. “We are ready to build relations with Russia,” he said. “But Ukraine will never be a subordinate or branch of Russia.”
He added Kyiv and the EU would soon sign an agreement on the political aspects of a strategic accord that fell through late last year.