Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - President Barack Obama said on Sunday that U.S. and its allies would “never” recognize Crimea’s referendum, which found 95 percent of ballots in favor of the Crimean Peninsula leaving Ukraine to rejoin Russia.

In a telephone call to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Obama hinted at possible additional sanctions on Russia and said that the vote had violated the Ukrainian constitution.

“President Obama emphasized that the Crimean ‘referendum,’ which violates the Ukrainian constitution and occurred under duress of Russian military intervention, would never be recognized by the United States and the international community,” the White House said in a statement.

Obama warned that “Russia’s actions were in violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and that, in coordination with our European partners, we are prepared to impose additional costs on Russia for its actions.”

In response, Putin told Obama that the referendum was fully legal, “in line with the norms of international law and the U.N. charter.”

The vote would mark the most radical redrawing of the map of Europe since Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.

The White House statement added: “President Obama underscored that there remains a clear path for resolving this crisis diplomatically, in a way that addresses the interests of both Russia and the people of Ukraine.”

“President Obama reiterated that a diplomatic resolution cannot be achieved while Russian military forces continue their incursions into Ukrainian territory and that the large-scale Russian military exercises on Ukraine’s borders only exacerbate the tension.”

Ukraine’s new pro-European leaders and the West have branded the referendum “illegal” because the strategic Black Sea region has been under de facto control of Russian forces since the start of the month.

*Agencies