German FM Downbeat On Diplomatic Solution For Crimean Crisis

Berlin, March 15, IRNA -- German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier sees hardly any chance for a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian-Russian political crisis over Sundayˈs plannned referendum on the Crimea peninsula, German media reported Thursday. Speaking in Budapest after a meeting with his counterparts from Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Steinmeier said Fridayˈs meeting between the foreign ministers from Russia and the US in London is ˈprobably the last attemptˈ to resolve the Crimean dispute between Kiev and Moscow. Germany has repeatedly said it would not recognize the outcome of a Crimean referendum on joining Russia. The European Union and United States have threatened sanctions against Russia if the referendum goes ahead./end