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John Kerry

NEW YORK. – US Secretary of State John Kerry bluntly warned Russia yesterday that it risked losing its place among the prestigious Group of 8 developed nations over its deployment of troops in Crimea.
Kerry warned President Vladimir Putin that “he is not going (to) have a Sochi G8, he may not even remain in the G8 if this continues. He may find himself with asset freezes, on Russian business, American business may pull back, there may be a further tumble of the ruble.”

“There is a huge price to pay. The United States is united, Russia is isolated. That is not a position of strength,” the top US diplomat told NBC’s Meet the Press.

The United States, Britain, and France have already pulled out of preparatory meetings this week for the G8 summit due to be held in June in Sochi, amid growing global concerns over Moscow’s threat to invade neighbouring Ukraine.

Ukraine’s new interim government has called up all military reservists to stave off the threat and warned their country was on the brink of disaster. — AFP.