Russia faces further sanctions from the European Union on Thursday over its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula as tensions in the region remained high despite the release of a Ukrainian naval commander.
In an address to the German Parliament in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU was readying further sanctions and that the G8 forum of leading economies had been suspended indefinitely. Russia holds the presidency of the G8 and President Vladimir Putin was due to host his counterparts, including President Barack Obama, at a summit in Sochi in June.
"So long as there aren't the political circumstances, like now, for an important format like the G8, then there is no G8," Merkel said.
Earlier this week, the EU and the United States slapped sanctions on certain individuals that were involved in what they say was the unlawful referendum in Crimea over joining Russia. Moscow formally annexed Crimea earlier this week in the wake of the poll. The Black Sea peninsula had been part of Russia for centuries until 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine.
Russian forces effectively took control of Crimea some two weeks ago in the wake of the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, after months of protests and sporadic violence.
The crisis erupted late last year after Yanukovych backed out of an association deal with the EU in favour of a promised $15 billion bailout from Russia. That angered Ukrainians from pro-European central and western regions.
Merkel said EU leaders would increase those "level 2" sanctions against Russia when they meet later Thursday in Brussels to widen the list of those whose assets are being frozen and who are banned from travelling.
She also reiterated that if things worsen, the EU is prepared to move to "level 3" measures, which would include economic sanctions.
"The European Council will make it clear today and tomorrow that with a further deterioration of the situation we are always prepared to take level 3 measures, and those will without a doubt include economic sanctions," she said.
If Russia was listening to Merkel, it paid no heed on Thursday. The Russian parliament's lower house endorsed the country's annexation of Crimea. The merger now only needs to be rubber-stamped by the upper house and signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, formalities expected to be completed by the end of the week.
Ukraine fears Russian invasion
Yurii Klymenko, Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, warned Thursday Russia may invade again.
"There are indications that Russia is on its way to unleash a full blown military intervention in Ukraine's east and south," Klymenko said at a UN briefing on the human rights situation in Ukraine,
His statement was widely supported by other ambassadors, but denied by a Russian diplomat, who read a prepared statement justifying Russia's actions in Crimea.
The tensions have forced international leaders to string together a series of emergency meetings.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. Before entering the talks, Ban said he was "deeply concerned" by the Ukrainian crisis.
He is set to travel to Kyiv tomorrow to hold talks with the new interim government there.
Troops mass near Ukraine border
Tens of thousands of Russian soldiers continue to mass near the Ukrainian border. Russian officials say they are there for training exercises.
Russian border guards also stepped up checks on goods entering the country from Ukraine, officials from the customs services and an agricultural inspection service said.
"Russian customs have increased customs checks, acting on information about possible attempts to bring contraband in from Ukraine," said spokesman Dmitry Kotikov.
Russia also announced Thursday that it would build up its defences in Crimea.
Russia's Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov told state media Russia additional troops will protect against "all possible encroachments."
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