Germany Slams Russian 'Attempt to Splinter Europe'

Germany's foreign minister on Saturday denounced Russia's "attempt to splinter Europe" by staging a disputed independence referendum in Crimea that led to the Ukrainian peninsula's absorption by Russia.

"The referendum in Crimea... is a violation of international law and an attempt to splinter Europe," Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters in Kiev after meeting Ukraine's interim president Oleksandr Turchynov.