US demands halt to Russian 'provocation' in Ukraine

The United States warned Russia Wednesday to stop its “provocation” in eastern Ukraine, reiterating that new sanctions could be slapped on the Kremlin.

With US Secretary of State John Kerry en route to Europe for international talks on the most serious East-West crisis in years, and a Ukrainian effort to reassert control over its eastern regions floundering, the State Department demanded de-escalation and demobilization on the part of Russian forces.

“We definitely want to see an immediate halt to that provocation,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.

Kerry and the European Union were to hold their first four-way talks with Ukraine and Russia Thursday in a bid to defuse the worsening crisis, but Washington was more interested in seeing direct steps on the ground by Russia, and warned it could penalize Moscow further if it did not stand down in Ukraine.

“Talk doesn’t replace actions when it comes to what’s happening on the ground, and we will continue to prepare additional sanctions and other steps if we can’t get some de-escalation here,” Harf said.

“Clearly, the presence of armed groups that the Russians are supporting in eastern Ukraine is an incredibly pressing priority.”

While Harf described the four-way talks as “an important diplomatic step,” she appeared to downplay the potential for dramatic breakthrough.

“I wouldn’t put it all on this meeting,” she said. “Russia needs to take steps to de-escalate.”

In addition to the four-way talks, Harf said, Kerry was set to meet separately in Geneva with EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The meetings follow tense face-offs between Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, and after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine was on the brink of civil war, stoking fears of outright Russian intervention.

Harf declined to describe the situation in Ukraine as a civil war, saying she had not heard State Department officials use the term.

With tensions soaring, Harf noted that Washington’s relationship with Moscow was “complicated” but remained intact.

“There are places we work together,” she said, pointing to the international talks with Iran on its nuclear weapons program, and to efforts to reduce Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.

“But I don’t think anyone would be surprised that the events of the last weeks and months have really been hard for the (US-Russia) relationship,” she said.