Russia ready to let tanks roll across borders: Germany

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned on Monday of an escalation of the crisis in Ukraine, saying “Russia was clearly prepared to allow tanks to roll across European borders”.

Speaking at an event in Berlin alongside new French Prime Minister Manuel Valls to commemorate World War One, Gabriel urged Europe to remember the lessons of the two world wars and not take freedom and security for granted.

The Ukraine crisis had shown that the old genie of geo-political power politics had been released from the bottle, Gabriel, who is also economy and energy minister, said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also on Monday called on Russia to unequivocally condemn the occupation of government buildings in eastern Ukraine.

The two leaders spoke by phone on Monday to discuss escalating tensions and the threat of Ukrainian military action following the occupation of state buildings in the east of Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists.”

He and Chancellor Merkel agreed about the importance of condemning the illegal occupation of government buildings in eastern Ukraine,” Cameron’s official spokesman told reporters.

“They believe the Russian government should be unequivocally condemning that action too.”Cameron is due to speak to French President Francois Hollande about Ukraine later on Monday, said the spokesman.

The West has accused Moscow of fomenting the unrest while the Ukraine’s ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, claimed that the Kiev government was coordinating its actions with the CIA.

Russia has warned the Kiev government against using force against the protesters in the east and has threatened to cancel an international diplomatic conference on the Ukrainian conflict scheduled for later this week.

European Union foreign ministers were meeting in Luxembourg Monday to consider broadening the list of people sanctioned because of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.