LONDON: The United States and Russia have failed to find common ground on Ukraine ahead of Crimea’s controversial vote.
“We haven’t got a common vision in terms of practical steps that foreign countries – Ukraine’s foreign partners – could take. But the talks were certainly helpful to get a better idea of how well we understand each other in the present situation,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters after meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in London.
Lovrav said that Russia has no plans to invade south-eastern Ukraine and would also respect the will of the people of Crimea.
A referendum on the status of Ukraine’s autonomous Crimea region will be held on Sunday which Crimeans will be asked to decide if the autonomous republic stays part of Ukraine or joins Russia.
Kerry said that the referendum was a violation of Ukraine law and its result would not be recognized by the US and its allies.
Meanwhile‚ in a telephone conversation with UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the forthcoming referendum in Ukraine is in line with International law.
During his conversation‚ Putin emphatically said that referendum was fully in accordance with the norms of UN Charter, the Kremlin said.
