14/03/2014 18:42
Ukraine crisis: US and Russia in key London talks
US Secretary of State John Kerry is holding talks on Ukraine with his Russian counterpart in London, in an attempt to defuse tensions two days before a disputed referendum in Crimea, the BBC reported.
Mr Kerry is expected to tell Sergei Lavrov that the referendum and Russia's military intervention in Crimea could trigger concerted US and EU sanctions.
He earlier warned of "very serious steps" if Russia annexes the region.
On Thursday, Russia insisted at the UN it did "not want war" with Ukraine.
During an emergency meeting of the Security Council, Moscow's ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin defended the right of Crimea, which is predominantly ethnic Russian, to decide whether or not to join the Russian Federation.
Russia's military intervention followed the fall of Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych on 22 February.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, who met Mr Kerry alongside Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday, said the US and Russian foreign ministers would find it hard to make progress.
"The fact that so far Russia hasn't taken any actual action to de-escalate tensions makes this a formidably difficult task today," he said.
Ahead of the talks, Mr Lavrov acknowledged the crisis was a "difficult situation" to be in. "Many events have happened and a lot of time has been lost," he told reporters.