Obama Will Ignore Sunday's Referendum in Crimea
3.16.2014
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Rip Curl |
President Obama will ignore Sunday's referendum in Crimea, regardless of whether the former Soviet territory votes to leave Ukraine and join Russia.
White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that America won't go along with any new borders.
"The United States is not going to recognize the results of that referendum," Pfeiffer said, adding that the U.S. is supporting the Ukrainian government "in every way possible."
Meanwhile, the Obama administration is preparing sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin doesn't stand down.
"President Putin has a choice about what he's going to do here. Is he going to continue to further isolate himself, further hurt his economy, further diminish Russian influence in the world, or is he going to do the right thing?" Pfeiffer said.
The Obama adviser also said Congress should get involved. "We’re calling on them right now to pass economic aid to Ukraine."
Some lawmakers appear ready to do just that.
"President Putin has started a game of Russian roulette and I think the United States and the West have to be very clear in their response because he will calculate about how far he can go," said Sen. Robert Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who appeared on Fox News Sunday.
Committee ranking Republican Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee. Corker said the the next few weeks will be a "defining moment" for how the West deals with Russia.
"Putin will continue to do this. He did it in Georgia a few years ago. He's moved into Crimea and he will move into other places unless we show that long-term resolve," he said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, who just returned from Ukraine, said Sunday's vote is a "sham referendum." And he warned that things will get ugly if Russia continues its aggressive stance.
"If Russia really does decide to move beyond Crimea it's going to be bloody and the fight may be long," he said on ABC's "This Week."
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