Kerry, Lavrov Fail to End Ukraine Standoff in Six-Hour Talks

Russia remained on collision course with the West over Ukraine’s separatist Crimea region as six hours of talks between the country’s top diplomat and his U.S. counterpart failed to ease tensions.

President Vladimir Putin “is not prepared to make any decision regarding Ukraine until after the referendum on Sunday” on joining Russia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a news conference after the meeting in London today. Russia “will respect the will of the Crimean peoples,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a separate news conference, saying there’s “no common vision” on resolving the crisis.