Secretary of State John Kerry called on Russia on Thursday to disarm separatists in Ukraine within "the next hours" as the European Union prepared to discuss deeper sanctions against Moscow, according to Reuters.
Washington and other Western powers have stepped up pressure on Russia to take concrete action to defuse the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where a ceasefire between Russian-speaking rebels and government forces has appeared to be crumbling, Reuters reported.
"We are in full agreement that it is critical for Russia to show in the next hours, literally, that they're moving to help disarm the separatists, to encourage them to disarm, to call on them to lay down their weapons and to begin to become part of a legitimate process," Kerry told reporters in Paris, according to Reuters.
Kerry added that EU leaders would discuss possible sanctions on Russia at their summit in Belgium on Friday, Reuters reported.
Washington has said it also has new sanctions ready to go, but Kerry said the United States would prefer not to be in "sanctions mode" and wanted Russia to take action without pressure, according to Reuters.
"We would like to see a cooperative effort between the United States, Europe and Russia and the Ukrainians," Kerry added, Reuters reported.
Separatist rebellions erupted in eastern Ukraine in early April after street protests in Kiev toppled Moscow-backed leader Viktor Yanukovich, and Russia in turn annexed the Crimean peninsula. Eastern rebels have called for union with Russia, according to Reuters.
Moscow denies Western accusations that it has allowed fighters to cross into Ukraine along with heavy weapons to confront Ukrainian government forces, Reuters reported.
The proposed next round of U.S. and EU sanctions would target Russia's financial, defense and high-tech industries, said U.S. officials, according to Reuters.
