Russia refuses Ukraine talk

Russia’s leaders are refusing all negotiations with their Ukrainian counterparts, Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov has said.

Mr Turchynov told the AFP agency that Ukraine would not intervene militarily in Crimea, even though a secession referendum there was a “sham”.

Meanwhile interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk is travelling to the US to meet President Barack Obama.

On Thursday he is due to address the UN Security Council in New York.

‘A provocation’
“We cannot launch a military operation in Crimea, as we would expose the eastern border [close to Russia] and Ukraine would not be protected,” Mr Turchynov told AFP.