Build up to WW3 -- OBAMA's WARNING to RUSSIA - U.S. is Looking at Steps to ISOLATE RUSSIA over UKRAINE CRISIS

OBAMA's WARNING to RUSSIA - U.S. is Looking at Steps to ISOLATE RUSSIA over UKRAINE CRISIS







President Barack Obama said Monday that if Russia continues an incursion into the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, the United States would take diplomatic and economic steps to "isolate" the country.

Speaking to reporters in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Obama said that invading the Ukrainian territory was a "violation of international law" that puts Russian President Vladimir Putin "on the wrong side of history."

"What cannot be done is for Russia with impunity to put its soldiers on the ground and violate basic principles that are recognized around the world," Obama said. Qualifying his threat on Friday that "there will be costs" for a Russian invasion, the president added, "Over time this will be a costly proposition for Russia."

"If in fact they continue on the current trajectory they're on, then we are examining a whole series of steps—economic, diplomatic—that will isolate Russia and will have a negative impact on Russia's economy and status in the world," Obama said.

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters Monday that it was "likely" the United States and allies would pursue sanctions against Russia. "At this point we're not just considering sanctions, given the actions Russia is taking," she said. "It is likely that we will put those in place, and we are preparing that right now."

American officials conceded Sunday that Russian military forces now have "complete operational control" of the Crimean peninsula, the home of Russia's Black Sea naval base, a day after Putin won the approval of his parliament to invade Ukraine.

Obama called on Congress to swiftly approve an aid package for the fledgling Ukrainian government. "I would hope that would be the first order of business," when Congress reconvenes for votes later this week, Obama said, adding he hoped the issue would be "outside of partisanship." Moscow's move to occupy Crimea with Russian troops is a declaration of war on Ukraine according to interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk.

"This is actually a declaration of war on my country. We urge Putin to pull back his troops from this country and honour bilateral agreements. If he wants to be the president who started a war between two neighboring and friendly countries, he has reached his target within a few inches," said Yatseniuk, warning, "We are on the brink of disaster."

Although there has been no violence, Russian troops now occupy key positions throughout the Crimean peninsula, including airports and communication hubs.

Ukrtransgaz, a Naftogaz Ukrainy subsidiary, operates the natural gas pipelines in Ukraine. The pipelines are used to transit Russian natural gas to eighteen European countries, including France and Italy. Naftogaz is the sole importer of Russian natural gas provided by Gazprom, the largest extractor of natural gas and one of the largest companies in the world.

Russian-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom has threatened to disrupt gas supplies to Europe following warnings by John Kerry and others that harsh economic sanctions could be imposed on Moscow, as the Ukraine crisis threatens to spiral into a trade war.

"Simmering political tensions in Ukraine, that are aggravated by inadequate economic conditions, may cause disruptions of gas supplies to Europe," the company announced today.

Although the monopoly said it would attempt to reduce export risks, Gazprom's chief financial officer Andrei Kruglov cautioned that Ukraine had failed to fulfil its debt obligations. This followed Gazprom spokesperson Sergai Kupriyanov's warning on Saturday that Ukraine would see its account with Gazprom canceled as a result of an overdue tab of $1.5 billion dollars.

President Obama spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin for 90 minutes on Saturday following the "uncontested arrival" of Russian tanks in Ukraine.

The White House released a photo of that phone call, with Obama decked out in rugged denim.

The Reagan-esque image is an almost comically effort by the White House to portray a tough looking Obama to the American people, a likely reaction to the pointed criticism over his timid response to Putin's aggression.