NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday he continues to monitor developments in Ukraine with “great concern” and noted that “the so-called referendum” in Crimea scheduled on March 16 would be “a direct violation of the Constitution of Ukraine and international law.

US President Barack Obama said the United States and Europe are united not only the protection of Ukrainian sovereignty, but also the consequences if , in fact, that sovereignty continues to be violated . “The U.S. and Europe are united not only in his message about Ukrainian sovereignty , but …

Russia sent more troops and armor in Crimea on Friday, showing no sign of listening to western ways to defuse the situation.

The meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday will focus on developments in Ukraine, a senior EU official announced on Friday. The European Union prepares sanctions against Russia if there is no de-escalation of the conflict and no start of talks between Russia and Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the Bundestag (Parliament) that Russia would suffer “enormous damage, both politically and economically” by the sanctions of the West.

France warned Friday its partners in the European Union they must respect their commitments to help the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), noting that the EU had not received the promises to deploy forces in

Russia will send more warplanes to its military ally Belarus in response to the increased activity of NATO near the borders of the former Soviet republic, the commander of the Belarusian air force announced on Wednesday.

Russia said on Thursday it had started military exercises near the border with Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed exercises began in the military district

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu met with Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki -moon in New York on Tuesday , reiterated the importance of unity in Ukraine and stressed that any concessions on the territorial integrity of

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to London to meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday to discuss proposals for resolving the Ukrainian crisis. “Our job is to try to present them with a series of options that are appropriate in order to try to respect the people of Ukraine, international