Putin urges West to preserve bilateral relations

Moscow has urged the West not to damage relations for the sake of Ukraine, while making veiled threats to intervene in Ukrainian regions outside Crimea and to turn off gas supplies to its embattled neighbour.

In a telephone conversation with US president Barack Obama, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin "stressed the paramount importance of Russian-American relations to ensure stability and security in the world. Those relations should not fall victim to certain differences, albeit very significant ones, on international issues."

Last night armed men drove a truck into a Ukrainian missile defence post in Sevastopol, and there were reports of a fist-fight. But no shots were fired and Crimea’s pro-Russian premier said later the standoff was over.

Mr Putin accused Ukraine’s new pro-western government of imposing “absolutely illegitimate decisions” on largely Russian-speaking southern and eastern regions, including Crimea.

"Russia cannot ignore appeals for help that are made in this regard and will act appropriately, in full agreement with the norms of international law."

The US and EU believe Russia has illegally deployed thousands of troops in Crimea, where they are blockading Ukrainian military bases. Moscow claims the armed men now controlling the Black Sea peninsula – most of whom carry modern Russian weapons and ride in military vehicles with Russian number plates – are actually local “self-defence” volunteers.

Threat of sanctions
The EU this week halted talks with Moscow on trade and easing visa rules and threatened to impose sanctions on Russian individuals if Moscow failed to start crisis talks with Kiev. The US ordered visa bans and asset freezes against people it accuses of threatening Ukraine's sovereignty.

Moscow's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned US secretary of state John Kerry last night that sanctions would "inevitably hit the United States like a boomerang".

Russia’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, said it would “not accept the language of sanctions and threats” and accused the EU of taking an “extremely unconstructive position” on Ukraine.

Asked on Russian television whether the world was entering another cold war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “I believe this is not the case. I believe it has not started. And I would like to believe that it will not start.”

Moscow has refused to back down over Crimea, where Serhiy Astakhov, an aide to the commander of Ukraine’s border guards, said there were now 30,000 Russian soldiers, compared with 11,000 usually stationed there with Russia’s Black Sea fleet in the port of Sevastopol.

Mr Putin insists he has the right to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine from a new government that he calls anti-Russian and backed by fascist mobs. Many members of the ethnic Russian minority in two million-strong Crimea support Moscow’s military incursion, but some Russians and the Ukrainian and Tatar communities oppose it.

Crimea’s local pro-Moscow parliament this week voted to join Russia and hold a referendum on the move on March 16th. Russia’s parliament, meanwhile, is preparing legislation to make it easier to annexe parts of other countries.

Moscow rally
Valentina Matvienko, speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, said that if Crimea voted to join Russia, Moscow would "unquestionably back this choice". Last night, tens of thousands of people attended a state-organised rally near Red Square in support of Crimea.

In a warning to Ukraine that will concern the EU, which relies on Russian energy, state gas firm Gazprom said Kiev had run up $1.89 billion (€1.36 billion) in arrears.

Chief executive Alexei Miller said “there is risk of returning to the situation of early 2009” when Gapzrom turned off gas to Ukraine, causing major problems for some EU states.

A monitoring mission from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe was prevented for a second day from entering Crimea yesterday by Russian troops or pro-Moscow militia manning roadblocks. An Irish officer is taking part in the mission.