Obama and EU slap first sanctions on Russia over Ukraine crisis

• Crimean parliament votes to secede from Ukraine
• Obama tells Putin: sanctions for ‘violation of sovereignty’
• German chancellor Angela Merkel: 'We're ready to act'

The United States and the European Union on Thursday unveiled sanctions to punish Russia for occupying Crimea, imposing visa restrictions on individuals and sharpening rhetoric in what has rapidly degenerated into the worst east-west crisis since the end of the cold war.

In their first concrete response to Russia’s move to wrest the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine, Washington and Brussels also warned of further sanctions, such as asset seizures, if Moscow does not relent in the stand-off.

“I am confident that we are moving forward together, united in our determination to oppose actions that violate international law,” Barack Obama told reporters in Washington. “That includes standing up for the principle of state sovereignty."

After an emergency EU summit in Brussels, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said: “We have experienced very much disappointment in recent days and we’re ready to act.

“We are in close coordination with the United States on this. We cannot go back to business as usual” with Russia, she added.

The urgency was heightened after the Crimean parliament abruptly, and unanimously, voted to secede from Ukraine and reposition the peninsula as part of Russia. It brought forward a referendum on secession to 16 March, but said the plebiscite would merely rubber-stamp its own decision. The sudden move elicited howls of protest from the new authorities in Kiev, and grave warnings from the west.