Russia still has opportunity to deescalate Ukrainian crisis: US

Russia still has the opportunity to de-escalate the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, the White House has said while reiterating the allegations that it is Moscow which has violated international norms.

The White House remarks came soon after US President Barack Obama slapped new sanctions against Russian government, bank and individuals.

"Pursuing sanctions, especially those that would come potentially with the authorities created in the executive order, is not our preferred choice, because in addition to the damage those sanctions might inflict on the Russian economy, there could be an impact on the global economy," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters yesterday.

"But what Russia has done has flagrantly violated international law as well as the agreements that Russia has with the sovereign state of Ukraine," Carney said.

"Russia still has the opportunity to de-escalate and take steps to engage in a dialogue with the Ukrainian government in order to address the concerns the Russian government says it has in a manner consistent with international law and in a manner that does not violate the sovereignty of Ukraine," he asserted.

Carney said Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian government officials should not be surprised that these actions are being taken both by the US and its allies.

"We've made clear all along that the intervention in Crimea, the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the escalation intentions have all been at odds with international law and with the interest of stability in the region. So those are the consequences if Russia chose not to de-escalate and if Russia chose to continue down the path that it's on," he said.

Russian government officials understand that these are the kinds of actions that their choices have made it necessary to take, he added.

Earlier in the day US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

"The Secretary expressed our continued concerns about the illegal referendum and the steps Russia has taken to annex Crimea about continued escalatory steps of the Russian military, and they've also continued to talk about a diplomatic path forward" State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters.

"So these conversations are happening regularly, and we're not going to give an extensive readout of each one for obvious reasons," she said.