TURMOIL IN THE UKRAINE / RUSSIA AGGRESSION

[Duchess]

I've been waiting for her to speak up. By many accounts she is one of very few people that Putin trusts & respects -

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that Russia risks "massive" political and economic consequences if Moscow does not enter into "negotiations that achieve results" over the situation in Ukraine.

In an address to Parliament, Merkel told lawmakers the only way out of the crisis is through diplomacy and assured them that "the use of the military is no option."

But, she said, the European Union and other western nations would soon freeze bank accounts and implement travel restrictions if Russia refused to enter "negotiations that achieve results and aren't just a play for time."

If Moscow does not begin to "deescalate" the situation then, Merkel said the 28 European Union nations, the United States and other trans-Atlantic partners were prepared to take even stronger measures that would hit Russia economically.

"If Russia continues on its course of the past weeks that will not only be a great catastrophe for Ukraine..." Merkel said in the nationally televised address. "It will cause massive damage to Russia, both economically and politically."

She said Russia's decision to deploy troops into Ukraine's strategic Crimean Peninsula was a clear breach of international law, and that Moscow was bullying its weaker neighbor with methods reminiscent of 19^th century European power politics.

Story