As the ex-Soviet Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia watch events in Ukraine anxiously, news magazine Der Spiegel reported that Germany was ready to send “up to six air force planes for air policing operations to the Baltic” region, as well as a navy vessel.
Putin and Obama had earlier discussed ways to solve the crisis in Ukraine, both the White House and the Kremlin said in separate statements, although neither side gave precise details on the nature of the plan on the table.
However, in a sign both sides feel there are grounds for discussion, Kerry decided mid-flight on a trip back from Riyadh to head to Paris and meet Lavrov.
Both the State Department and Moscow confirmed the meeting would take place.
Russia is also feeling economic pressure, with the United States and European Union having already hit Moscow with sanctions against senior officials and markets worried about measures that could hurt the wider economy.
Moody’s put Russia’s credit rating on review for a possible downgrade on Friday, saying the current crisis “could significantly dampen investor sentiment for several years to come”.
– Paving way for Poroshenko –
The race to take on the permanent role of Ukraine’s president became clearer as Klitschko announced he would not stand in the polls, leaving Poroshenko as the clear favourite in what could still be a tight race.
“We have to nominate a single candidate representing the democratic forces,” Klitschko told a congress of his UDAR (Punch) party.
“This has to be a candidate who enjoys the strongest public support. Today, this candidate in my opinion is Petro Poroshenko.”
This could give a clear run to Poroshenko, the only prominent Ukrainian businessman to back the protests against Yanukovych.
Tymoshenko, who was jailed under Yanukovych, has a lot of ground to make up to catch Poroshenko who leads in opinion polls but analysts see her as a wily campaigner.
As the rest of Europe was set to move their clocks one hour forward for summer on Sunday, in Crimea, residents braced for a two-hour jump into the timezone of their new masters in Moscow.
Crimea’s Tatars on Saturday voted to push for self-rule in their historic homeland following its takeover by Russia, but remained torn on how to engage with the new authorities.
The Tatars, which make up about 12 percent of Crimea’s population, strongly opposed and largely boycotted the hastily-organised March 16 referendum that saw the peninsula split from Ukraine.
Meanwhile the Czech government said it was ready, if needed, to help the 20,000 ethnic Czechs living in Ukraine’s northwest Volhynia region.
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