Russian troop convoy on road to Crimea's capital

convoy of hundreds of Russian troops today headed toward the capital of Ukraine's Crimea region, a day after Russia's forces took over the strategic Black Sea peninsula without firing a shot.

 

The new government in Kiev has been powerless to react. Ukraine's parliament was meeting today in a closed session.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has defied calls from the West to pull back his troops, insisting that Russia has a right to protect its interests and the Russian-speaking population in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine.

 

There has been no sign of ethnic Russians facing attacks in Crimea, where they make up about 60 % of the population, or elsewhere in Ukraine. Russia maintains an important naval base on Crimea.

 

President Barack Obama spoke with Putin by telephone for 90 minutes yesterday and expressed his "deep concern" about "Russia's clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity," the White House said.

 

Obama warned that Russia's "continued violation of international law will lead to greater political and economic isolation."

 

The US also said it will suspend participation in "preparatory meetings" for the Group of Eight economic summit planned in June at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the Winter Olympics were held.

 

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius agreed, saying on French radio Europe that planning for the summit should be put on hold. France "condemns the Russian military escalation" in Ukraine, and Moscow must "realize that decisions have costs," he said today.

 

But the US and other Western governments have few options to counter Russia's military moves.

 

NATO's North Atlantic Council, the alliance's political decision-making body, and the NATO-Ukraine Commission were to meet today. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the allies will "coordinate closely" on the situation in Ukraine, which he termed "grave."

 

Ukraine is not a NATO member, meaning the US and Europe are not obligated to come to its defense. But Ukraine has taken part in some alliance military exercises and contributed troops to its response force.

 

On the road from Sevastopol, the Crimean port where Russia has its naval base, to Simferopol this morning, Associated Press journalists saw 12 military trucks carrying troops, a Tiger vehicle armed with a machine gun and also two ambulances.

 

Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, announced late yesterday that he had ordered Ukraine's armed forces to be at full readiness because of the threat of "potential aggression.