John Kerry says the US and its European allies are in talks about harsher sanctions against Russia, while US President Barack Obama will evaluate next steps in dealing with the conflict in eastern Ukraine in the coming days.
The US secretary of state made the remarks on Saturday after meetings with his British counterpart Philip Hammond in London.
He said among options being considered by Obama was whether to arm Ukrainian forces and to impose deeper sanctions against Russia for alleged breaches of a February 12 European-brokered truce.
“In the next few days I anticipate that President Obama will evaluate the choices that are in front of him and will make his decision as to what the next step will be,” Kerry said.
“There are serious discussions taking place between us and our European allies as to what those next sanctions steps ought to be and when they ought to be implemented.”
Ukraine’s military accused Russia on Friday of sending more tanks and troops towards the rebel-held town of Novoazovsk, further east along the Sea of Azov coast from Mariupol, expanding their presence on what it fears could be the next battlefront.
The rebels said Ukrainian forces meanwhile shelled 15 locations overnight, including parts of Donetsk, the largest separatist-controlled city.
The Russian government did not immediately respond to the allegation from Kiev, but has always denied accusations that its forces are fighting in Ukraine.
Kerry said the most “egregious violation” of the ceasefire was the assault on the city of Debaltseve and military supplies allegedly sent by Russia to separatists.
“We know to a certainty what Russia has been providing and no amount of propaganda is capable of hiding these actions,” Kerry said.
“For anyone wanting to make grey areas out of black, let’s get very real, the Minsk agreement is not open to interpretation, it is not vague, it is not optional.”
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