Angela Merkel warns Russia of catastrophe

Russia will face massive economic and political damage due to the war in Ukraine.

Russia uses weakness of Ukraine instead of being a partner and helping to settle the situation in the country.

Angela Merkel said it in her address to the parliament, the website glavnoe.ua writes.

According to her, the Ukrainian crisis cannot be solved by military means, and Russia may face massive economic and political damage if it doesn't change its course towards Ukraine.

"If Russia continues on its course of the past weeks, it will not only be a catastrophe for Ukraine,” Merkel said.

The German Chancellor said the territorial integrity of Ukraine “cannot be called into question”.

Earlier, the G7 leaders called on Russia to stop all attempts to annex the Crimean region.

The G7 statement says they will take further action, “individually and collectively”, if Russia takes such a step.

The G7 leaders also said they would not recognize the outcome of the referendum on Crimea's secession from Ukraine and joining Russia scheduled for this Sunday.

US president Barack Obama, who met with Ukraine's prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Washington, said the US would have to apply “costs” to Russia if it didn't change its policy towards Ukraine.

Yatsenyuk, for his part, said Ukraine “is and will be a part of the Western world”.

Ways out of the crisis in the strained and dangerous situation should be found, Merkel said. Military action is not a solution, according to her.

The German government, other EU countries and the US are working on setting up an international observer mission and a contact group to find a diplomatic solution to the problem, Merkel says.

Merkel thinks no parallels are possible between Crimea and Kosovo. “That situation [of Kosovo] cannot be compared to what is happening today in Ukraine,” she said.