Kerry says U.S. and Europe will respond if Crimea referendum occurs
- 10 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says tension between Russia and U.S. over Ukraine 'has the capacity' to affect relationship with Moscow on Syria.
The United States and the European Union will respond on Monday (March 17) with a "serious series of steps" against Russia if a referendum in Ukraine's Crimea region goes ahead on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday (March 13).
Kerry told a congressional hearing he hoped to avoid such steps, which include sanctions, through discussions with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in London on Friday (March 14).
"If there is no sign of any capacity to be able to move forward and resolve this issue, there will be a very serious series of steps in Europe and here with respect to the options that are available to us," Kerry said in testimony on the State Department's 2015 budget request.
Kerry went on to add, "Now our choice is not to be put in the position
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says tension between Russia and U.S. over Ukraine 'has the capacity' to affect relationship with Moscow on Syria.
The United States and the European Union will respond on Monday (March 17) with a "serious series of steps" against Russia if a referendum in Ukraine's Crimea region goes ahead on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday (March 13).
Kerry told a congressional hearing he hoped to avoid such steps, which include sanctions, through discussions with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in London on Friday (March 14).
"If there is no sign of any capacity to be able to move forward and resolve this issue, there will be a very serious series of steps in Europe and here with respect to the options that are available to us," Kerry said in testimony on the State Department's 2015 budget request.
Kerry went on to add, "Now our choice is not to be put in the position