A move by the Crimean authorities to rejoin Russia and go ahead with a referendum on the issue next week was dismissed as illegitimate by the United States on Thursday as the crisis in Ukraine continued.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday warned the international community against reviving the Cold War era amid the crisis unfolding in Ukraine, saying that it is “dangerous for everyone and parties should avoid it.”

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen will meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Arsenii Yatseniuk at NATO Headquarters Thursday afternoon.