17:57
6.3.2014
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy announces that a Russian failure to deescalate the situation in Crimea "will have serious consequences on our bilateral relations."
17:52
6.3.2014
Reuters quotes Polish media "Gazeta Wyborcza" and "Rzeczpospolita" saying 12 F-16 U.S. fighters are being sent to Poland for a training exercise.
17:32
6.3.2014
a suspension of visa talks & negotiations on a new economic agreement with #Russia is on cards. #Ukraine
— Rikard Jozwiak (@RikardJozwiak) March 6, 2014
17:21
6.3.2014
A senior State Department official says on background that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed Ukraine today when they met on the sidelines of the International Conference on Libya in Rome for 40 minutes. Kerry is said to have stressed the importance of direct Russian-Ukrainian dialogue and talked with Lavrov about formats. Kerry, the source says, also highlighted the need for access by international monitors to Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
17:15
6.3.2014
Paige Alexander, assistant administrator Bureau for Europe and Eurasia for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), tells the same hearing that in the leadup to Ukrainian elections it is important to make sure objective information is available to the Ukrainian public and that Washington supports that effort. She was answering a question from U.S. Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs that's holding the "U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Ukraine" hearing, about whether Washington plans to increase surrogate radio broadcasting to Ukraine, especially to eastern Ukraine.
17:12
6.3.2014
A hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs in Washington has reconvened after a recess. Eric Rubin, Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State, tells the committee that Washington is encouraged by the current Ukrainian government's willingness to deal with the IMF on correcting deficiencies in its economy.
16:35
6.3.2014
In Russian:
Watch Crimean Tatar leader Chubarov announcing boycott of Crimean referendum [Ru] http://t.co/ElUz2ykGZ2 | @radiosvoboda
— Russian Police Watch (@RusPoliceWatch) March 6, 2014
16:30
6.3.2014
Reports claiming that we're organizing convoys for the evacuation of refugees from the Crimean peninsula are FALSE. #Ukraine
— ICRC (@ICRC) March 6, 2014
16:28
6.3.2014
. @RFERL reporting Crimean Tatar leader Chubarov calling for international peacekeepers in Crimea.
— Robert Coalson (@CoalsonR) March 6, 2014
16:17
6.3.2014
Eliot Engel, senior Democratic member of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee told the hearing: "As Ukraine's leaders restore stability and order in the country. I urge them to reach out to all groups and regions and to work together to build a tolerant pluralistic society. The interim government and any Ukrainian government must protect the rights of all minority populations and make it clear that it represents all Ukrainian citizens."