Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and the US secretary of state,John Kerry, are to meet in London on Friday for talks on Ukraine before Sunday’s planned referendum in Crimea.
The two will meet at the US ambassador’s residence in central London as Kerry attempts to head off a vote that could lead to Crimea – now under the control of Russian troops – deciding to become part of Russia.
Both the US and the EU say that if the referendum – which they have declared illegal – goes ahead, Moscow will face the prospect of fresh sanctions being imposed.
Western diplomats have expressed little optimism ahead of the London talks. Nothing resembling a peace plan has been sketched out between the two sides, one said. Kerry and Lavrov have spoken almost daily as the Ukraine crisis has unfolded but have yet to find any common ground.
Ukraine’s prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, on Thursday accused Russia of demonstrating unacceptable “military aggression” that has “no reason and no grounds”. Moscow has deployed 10,000 troops along its border with Ukraine, deepening the crisis. The Russian defence ministry claimed the troops were only involved in a training exercise that would last two weeks.
Yatsenyuk told the UN security council he was convinced Russians did not want war. He urged Russia’s leaders to heed the people’s wishes and return to dialogue with Ukraine. “If we start real talks with Russia, I believe we can be real partners,” he said, Guardian informs.
