- published: 05 Mar 2014
- views: 233
Western diplomats met Wednesday on the crisis in Ukraine as NATO warned it was reviewing its relationship with Russia and threats of sanctions -- and retaliations -- flew between Europe and Russia. At NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that the international body had decided to "put the entire range of NATO-Russia cooperation under review" to send "a clear message Russia's actions have consequences." Planning for the first NATO-Russia joint mission -- the maritime escort of a U.S. ship involved in neutralizing chemical weapons -- has been suspended, though the decision will not affect the destruction of chemical weapons, he said. And no staff-level civilian or military meetings with Russia will take place "for now," Rasmussen said. But, he added, the organization was keeping the door open for political dialogue. In addition, he said, the organization will "intensify" its partnership with Ukraine, stepping up engagement with its civilian and military leadership through increased joint training and exercises and doing more to include Ukraine in multinational projects. Rasmussen's comments came after meetings in Paris between foreign ministers from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Russia. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, met three times Wednesday in Paris. They greeted each other cordially during one session at the Russian Embassy, according to the pool reporter traveling with Kerry. Kerry urged direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to resolve the crisis, the official said. One of those meetings included a "brief and informal discussion" among Kerry, Lavrov, Britain's William Hague, France's Laurent Fabius and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the official said. "We are all concerned at what is happening there (Ukraine)," Lavrov told reporters. "We agreed to continue those discussions in the days to come to see how best we can help stabilize normalize the situation and overcome the crisis." By day's end, Lavrov had not met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Deshchytsia. But Ukrainian acting Economy and Trade Minister Pavlo Sheremeta told CNN that he believed there had been some communication between officials from the two countries. "I think our prime minister talked to the Russian prime minister," he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and the two leaders discussed possible moves to normalize the situation, the Kremlin said. Possibility of sanctions Russia has been warned that possible sanctions will be on the agenda when European Union leaders meet Thursday in Brussels if no progress is made in ending the showdown sparked by Russia's military intervention in Ukraine's Crimea region. The impact of sanctions, if they were imposed, might be felt by other countries, too. In a tit-for-tat move, Russian lawmakers are drafting a law that would allow Russia to confiscate assets belonging to U.S. and European companies if sanctions are slapped on Moscow, Russian state media reported. The Russian threat was not specific, but numerous large European and U.S. companies have interests in the region and Russia is a major supplier of gas to Europe. TAGS: abc breaking news, bbc, bbc football, bbc iplayer, bbc news, bbc news america, bbc persian, bbc sport, bbc weather, bbc world news, breaking celebrity news, breaking election news, breaking late news, breaking local news, breaking music news, breaking news, breaking news alerts, breaking news canada, breaking news headlines, breaking news in atlanta, breaking news in nigeria, breaking news india, breaking news pensacola florida, breaking news plane crash, breaking news story, breaking sports news, business expensive news home media world, christian world news, cnn, cnn breaking news, cnn money, cnn news, cnn news breaking news, cnn news world, detroit breaking news, global news, headline, headline news, health care technology news, hot latest global news, internet technology news, las vegas breaking news, latest breaking news, latest celebrity news, latest information technology news, latest music news, latest news, latest news headlines, latest news update, latest sports news, live breaking news, local breaking news, local news today, msn breaking news, nbc breaking news, nbc world news, news of the world, news report us world, news today news, news updated daily, solar technology news, sports news today, technology news, the latest news, today news, us news and world, us news and world report, us news and world report magazine, us news and world report web site, us news world report, world news, world news daily, world news headlines,Ukrainian,Ukraine Protest,Ukraine Crisis,Ukraine Ex-Leader.