Russia warns West over sanctions

Russia has told the US that Western sanctions over the Crimea dispute are unacceptable, and has threatened "consequences". Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issued the warning in a telephone call to US Secretary of State John Kerry. It came hours after Russian and Crimean leaders signed a treaty absorbing the peninsula into the Russian Federation following a disputed referendum. On Wednesday pro-Russian self-defence forces had broken into the building - the headquarters of the Ukrainian navy - and raised the Russian flag, according to BBC.