28/02/2014 12:03
Ukraine crisis: US urges restraint and warns it is 'watching Russia'
The US has called for all sides to "step back and avoid any kind of provocations" amid heightened tensions in Ukraine's Crimea region, the BBC reported.
Secretary of State John Kerry said he had spoken to his Russian counterpart who promised to respect Ukraine's "territorial integrity."
But he warned Moscow needed to back up its words with actions.
Earlier, pro-Russian armed men stormed Crimea's local parliament, while Russia has been conducting military exercises.
The ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych - on the run since he was voted out of office last week - also reportedly surfaced in Russia.
Ukrainian media said he arrived in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don early on Friday, where he is due to give a news conference.
In statement on Thursday he said he still considered himself the legitimate president.
A new interim government - including Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk - was approved by parliament earlier on Thursday.
Mr Kerry said he had spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and "asked specifically that Russia work with the United States and our friends and allies in order to support Ukraine to rebuild unity, security and a healthy economy.”
Mr Lavrov, he said, had insisted the snap military exercises ordered by President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday were unrelated to events in Ukraine and also said Moscow was "concerned" by the stand-off in the Crimean parliament. Russia has also scrambled jets to monitor its borders.