European Union leaders gather in Brussels Monday where they agree to impose a series of sanctions on officials from Russia and Ukraine after Crimea applied to join Russia following a weekend referendum.
Crimea's leaders declared a Soviet-style 97-percent result in favor of seceding from Ukraine in a vote condemned as illegal by Kiev and the West.
German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier says the referendum could create new conflicts in Europe.
(SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, SAYING:
"It cannot be that almost seven decades after the end of World War Two, and 25 years after we have overcome the confrontation between blocs in the Cold War, it cannot be that we again start to correct borders, with a reference to minority rights or ethnical aspects. If this were to be started and legitimized, it would be an issue which would never end, and which would create new conflicts in Europe."
The EU's 28 foreign ministers ag
