The European Union on Thursday reiterated its demand that Russia withdraw its forces in the Crimea, called off talks on a trade pact with Moscow and warned of economic sanctions if the situation in Ukraine worsens.
The United States escalated its response to Russia’s military and economic threats to Ukraine on Thursday, announcing it has imposed visa bans on officials and others deemed responsible for actions that have undermined Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The new sanctions, announced by the Obama administration, carried the threat of further steps. The announcement came as the European Union was considering its own punitive measures and as Secretary of State John Kerry met for a second day with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on ways to defuse the Ukraine crisis, one of the most serious East-West confrontations since the Cold War.
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