On Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry has made a statement urging Russia to disarm separatists in Ukraine within "the next hours," as the European Union prepares to discuss additional sanctions against Moscow that could have a deeper impact than the first ones.
Reuters said Washington and several other powers in the West have increased its pressure on Russia for the latter to defuse the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Accordingly, a ceasefire between government forces and Russian-speaking rebels are apparently crumbling.
Telling reporters in Paris, Kerry said, "We are in full agreement that it is critical for Russia to show in the next hours, literally, that they're moving to help disarm the separatists, to encourage them to disarm, to call on them to lay down their weapons and to begin to become part of a legitimate process."
He also added that leaders of the EU would be discussing potential sanctions at their summit, which will be held on Friday in Belgium.
Kerry also stated that although the US has new sanctions ready to be imposed, the country has decided to hold off for now and was hoping for Russia to take action without additional pressure.
"We would like to see a cooperative effort between the United States, Europe and Russia and the Ukrainians," Kerry added.
In early April, Reuters said separatist rebellions erupted in eastern Ukraine after protests in the streets of Kiev have toppled Moscow-backed leader Viktor Yanukovich. Russia in turn annexed the Crimean peninsula, which sparked attention from international powers. Eastern rebels have since called for union with Moscow. Russia had also denied accusations by the West that it allowed fighters to cross into Ukraine in order to confront government forces.
The news agency added that the next round of US and EU sanctions would focus on the financial, defense and high-tech industries of Russia, US officials have said.
