REPORT: Biden warns Russia will be isolated if Ukraine crisis not resolved -US official

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Russia's Black Sea Fleet has not issued an ultimatum to Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender by 5 a.m. on Tuesday or face an assault, Interfax news agency quoted an official at the fleet's headquarters as saying.

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Russia's Black Sea Fleet has a base in Crimea and Moscow has effectively established control over the peninsula, which is part of Ukraine.



Interfax quoted an unnamed source in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry earlier on Monday as saying a deadline to surrender at 0300 GMT had been set by the Black Sea Fleet's commander.



The same news agency later quoted an unnamed representative at the fleet's headquarters as saying no assault was planned, adding: "This is complete nonsense."



Earlier on Monday, pro-Russian demonstrators occupied the first floor of the regional government building in east Ukraine's city of Donetsk on Monday.

A Reuters reporter in a press centre on the fourth floor of the building said the protesters had seized the first floor but were unable to go higher because lifts were disabled and stairwell doors shut.

The 11-storey building has been flying the Russian flag, rather than the Ukrainian flag, for three days, with demonstrators carrying Russian flags staging rallies outside.

This as, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said his country would never give up Crimea.



PM Yatseniuk warned that a military conflict in his east European country would threaten the stability of the whole region.



He also denied the new government installed after the removal of President Viktor Yanukovich would nationalize private business.



He reiterated that the government would be ready to meet any conditions set by the International Monetary Fund to secure financial assistance.



Russian forces have taken control of the Black Sea peninsula, which is part of Ukraine, but Yatseniuk told reporters: "No one will give up Crimea to anyone."



Ukrainian border guards on Monday reported a build-up of armored vehicles on the Russian side of a narrow sea channel dividing Russia and the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

A border statement guard spokesman also said Russian ships had been moving in and around the port city of Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet has a base, and that Russian forces had blocked mobile telephone services in some areas.

The build-up of Russian armor was near a ferry port on the Russian side of the Kerch Channel opposite the Ukrainian city of Kerch, a border guard spokesman said.



On Sunday, the Group of Seven major industrialized nations condemned Russia's intrusion into Ukraine and canceled for now preparations for the G8 summit that includes Russia and had been scheduled to take place in Sochi in June, the White House said.

UN



United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said on Monday that he would ask Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia refrain from any acts or rhetoric that would further escalate the crisis in Ukraine and instead seek dialogue with authorities in Kiev.



Ban said that his deputy Jan Eliasson, who had just arrived in Kiev, would "convey the same message to Ukrainian authorities".



EU



European Union governments agreed on Monday to consider "targeted measures" against Russia if Moscow fails to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, an EU diplomat said.



In a statement agreed at emergency talks on the issue, EU foreign ministers said: "In the absence of de-escalation steps by Russia, the EU should decide on consequences for bilateral relations ... And will consider about possible targeted measures", the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Earlier, EU foreign ministers agreed to suspend talks with Russia on visa issues because of Russia's seizure of Crimea, a draft of a statement to be issued later on Monday said.



Russia and the European Union have been discussing visa cooperation since 2007, with Russia keen to have visa-free access to the EU's member states. It is an issue raised at nearly every meeting between Moscow and Brussels.



US



The White House has canceled a presidential delegation to the Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, part of its response to Russia's military intervention in Ukraine, National Security Council spokesman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.



US athletes will participate in the games, which begin on Friday.



Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden discussed the situation in Ukraine by telephone, the Interfax news agency cited Medvedev's spokeswoman as saying on Monday.



Medvedev "declared that it is necessary to protect the interests of all Ukrainian citizens, including residents of Crimea, and citizens of Russia who are located in Ukraine," Interfax quoted his spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova, as saying.



For his part, Vice President Biden warned Russian PM Medvedev of "increasing political and economic isolation" if Russia does not pull back its forces from Ukraine, a White House official said.





Germany





Russia:

Earlier, Russian Finance Minster Anton Siluanov said Moscow will decide by the end of the day on financial aid to the Ukraine Crimea region.



This as, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Russia's western partners to put aside geopolitical calculations and think about the Ukrainian people.



He said all sides should stand by a Feb. 21 agreement, which agreed on undertaking constitutional reforms.



Earlier, Lavrov discussed Ukraine with his Chinese counterpart and their views coincided on the situation there, the ministry said.







Britain:



Britain said it was very concerned about the possibility that the Kremlin might send troops further into Ukraine and cautioned President Vladimir Putin that Russia would pay significant costs unless he changed course.



British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Russian intervention in Ukraine was the biggest crisis in Europe so far this century.



Hague said that Russia now had operational control of Ukraine's Crimea region and that while Russia had the legal right to base troops in the region, the Kremlin should order them to return to their barracks.



OSCE:



Switzerland, which chairs the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said on Monday it is trying to convene an international contact group on Ukraine and urged all players to help defuse the crisis.



Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, who holds the rotating presidency of Europe's main human rights and democracy watchdog, said that the OSCE contact group would support Ukraine during its period of transition and coordinate international aid.



Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva as the OSCE Council met in Vienna, he said: "These talks also aim to discuss an observer mission with a particular focus on the rights of national minorities and human rights in Ukraine."



In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said the two veto-wielding U.N. Security Council members would stay in close contact on the issue.Britain said it was very concerned about the possibility that the Kremlin might send troops further into Ukraine and cautioned President Vladimir Putin that Russia would pay significant costs unless he changed course.Switzerland, which chairs the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said on Monday it is trying to convene an international contact group on Ukraine and urged all players to help defuse the crisis.Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, who holds the rotating presidency of Europe's main human rights and democracy watchdog, said that the OSCE contact group would support Ukraine during its period of transition and coordinate international aid.Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva as the OSCE Council met in Vienna, he said: "These talks also aim to discuss an observer mission with a particular focus on the rights of national minorities and human rights in Ukraine."





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Russia's military activities on Ukrainian soil are unacceptable but international diplomacy must prevail to solve the crisis, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Monday.Steinmeier suggested an fact-finding mission by the OSCE, Europe's main human rights and democracy watchdog, as an initial response. "We are considering whether it wouldn't make good sense to create transparency about what is happening on the ground in eastern Ukraine and Crimea instead of being dependent on rumors," he said.For her part, Germany's Angela Merkel believes it is not too late to resolve the Ukrainian crisis by political means despite differences in opinion between Vladimir Putin and the West on Crimea, which Russia now controls, an aide to the chancellor said.Merkel has proposed to the Russian president Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama sending a "fact-finding mission" to the Ukrainian region of Crimea, a peninsula on the Black Sea where Russian forces have seized control without any fighting.The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that recent remarks by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry contained threats against Russia and were "unacceptable".Kerry on Sunday condemned what he called Russia's "incredible act of aggression" in Ukraine after Russian forces took control of the Crimea region and parliament gave President Vladimir Putin consent to send the military into Ukraine.