(VOVworld) – The US and Russia are still in disagreement over finding a solution for Ukraine’s crisis with the Crimean autonomous planning to go ahead with a referendum to join Russia next Sunday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and US Secretary of State John Kerry (Photo: Telegraph)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov talked on the phone with his US counterpart John Kerry, saying that Russia refused to talk with the Ukrainian caretaker government in Kiev and called on all parties concerned to stick to their agreement about reform of Ukraine’s constitution that had been signed on February 21.
US Secretary of State John Kerry replied that the US wanted to maintain a dialogue with Russia while respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He called on Russia to talk with the Kiev government through a US-EU contact group that is about to form. Kerry regards the Crimea’s referendum on joining Russia as illegitimate because it did not have the approval of the Kiev government.
An announcement from the US State Department following the phone call has reiterated Washington’s warnings of sanctions against countries that threatened Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the ministers had a discussion in the interests of ensuring Ukraine’s peace and national harmonisation. Moscow underscored the necessity of safeguarding the interests of all Ukrainian people and the expectations of the Crimean people within international laws.