Referendum efforts 'bogus'

Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday slammed separatist efforts to hold a referendum in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

"We flatly reject this illegal effort to further divide Ukraine," he said, after meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. He called the attempt "contrived and bogus."

He also cautioned Moscow that the US would impose more powerful sanctions aimed at crippling Russia's economy if it disrupts Ukraine's presidential election on May 25. However, he admitted that implementing further sanctions could backfire.

"You have to ask yourself, if the price has been fully paid ahead of time, whether or not that invites something further that you don't want to have happen, so there is a delicate mix here," he said.

The United States and European Union imposed limited sanctions on lists of individual Russians and small firms after Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March. The US and EU are preparing the next phase of sanctions that could be triggered if Russian forces cross into Ukraine.

Ukraine government forces have continued their offensive in the east of the country, where armed separatist rebels have been occupying several government buildings. At least 30 pro-Russian separatists were killed Monday in the flashpoint city of Slovyansk, according to Ukraine's interior minister, Arsen Avakov, on Tuesday. Three Ukrainian helicopters have also been shot down.

Western countries have blamed Russian agents for orchestrating the unrest and for stoking the violence with a campaign of propaganda. Moscow currently has tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine's eastern border.

Kerry's remarks follow a meeting earlier on Tuesday in Vienna between numerous European foreign ministers and representatives from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The meeting, which included Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine's interim Foreign Minister, Andriy Deshchytsia, was designed to get Moscow and Kyiv back on track with plans set in Geneva last month to de-escalate the crisis. Both sides have, however, set conflicting pre-conditions for more talks to take place.

hc/jm (AFP, AP)