EU under pressure to extend response

The European Union is under pressure to intensify its response to the Russian incursion into Crimea when EU leaders gather in Brussels tomorrow, after Russia signed a treaty effectively paving the way for Crimea's annexation.

As Russian president Vladimir Putin insisted in a fiercely patriotic speech to the Russian parliament that Crimea had always been a part of Russia, the heads of the European Commission and Council said the EU “does not and will not recognise the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation”.

US vice-president Joe Biden condemned the Russian action as a "land-grab", and confirmed that the US was considering sending forces to the Baltic region to conduct ground and naval exercises.

"We are exploring a number of additional steps to increase the pace and scope of our military co-operation," he said, while asserting that Nato remained committed to protecting its allies. Mr Biden was speaking on the first day of a two-day trip to the Balkans and Poland.

Leaders of the 28 member states gather in Brussels tomorrow for a two-day summit that is likely to be dominated by Ukraine. Diplomatic activity will continue into next week when US president Barack Obama visits Brussels on Wednesday, his first official visit to the capital of the European Union. The US president also called a meeting of G7 leaders in The Hague earlier in the week, where he is scheduled to attend a nuclear summit.

But despite the rejection by virtually all EU members of the Crimean referendum as illegal, countries are divided on the level of sanctions to employ against Russia.

Individual sanctions
On Monday foreign affairs ministers adopted sanctions on 18 individuals, including 13 Russian politicians and military officers, but stopped short of endorsing a wider list of between 120 and 130 individuals that was circulated by officials last week.

The Russian foreign ministry warned yesterday that the sanctions introduced by the US and the EU “are unacceptable and will not remain without consequences”.

A number of countries, including the Baltic states, Sweden and Poland, are pushing for more punitive action, with Germany and Austria more resistant.

Yesterday, leaders moved to condemn the action by Moscow, with British prime minister David Cameron describing the attempt to annex Crimea as "completely unacceptable" and vowing to push for further sanctions.

In a statement, French president François Hollande said that France "does not recognise either the results of the referendum . . . or the attachment of this Ukrainian region to Russia", but avoided any mention of further sanctions, calling for "a strong and co-ordinated European response".

Yesterday, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius warned it may suspend the sale of two warships to Russia, but said it would only do so if Britain considered sanctions on Russian obligarchs living in London.