The European Union (EU) immediately suspended talks on a wide range of economic cooperation, and warned that tougher sanctions will be imposed unless Russia quickly ends its aggression. Countries of the EU and Canada also suspended the upcoming G8 Summit, which was to be held in June in Sochi, Russia, in response to the military incursion into Crimea. Instead, the EU Commission announced its plan to extend 500 million euros worth of trade benefits to Ukraine in order to help Ukraine stabilize its economic and financial situation.

European leaders also joined others in condemnation of Russia. Both the United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for restraint. UK Foreign Secretary William Hague stated that the UK condemns Russia’s decision to authorize military action in Ukraine without the consent of the government and urged Russia to calm the “dangerous situation.” Hague also emphasized UK’s support of the new Ukrainian government based on the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which pledges to support Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty. Merkel also joined the UK in highlighting the importance of “preserving territorial integrity” of Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that “the world stands on the brink of conflict” over Ukraine and argued that Europe must send a strong message that “it will not tolerate any acts of aggression or intervention.” Since the end of the Cold War, Poland has played a crucial part in diplomatic efforts of the EU during the worst conflicts between Europe and Russia.

China neither criticized nor supported Moscow’s actions over Ukraine, but presented somewhat guarded statements. China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang stated, “It is China’s longstanding position not to interfere in others’ internal affairs,” but also remarked that it respects “the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” Qin did not condemn Russia for authorizing military action in Crimea but called for dialogue to resolve the standoff. Such equivocation shows the subtle balance China is trying to achieve to preserve good relations with Russia without offending the US and Europe. It is most likely that China will remain aloof over the crisis. Others believe this ambiguous stance maybe due to the fear that this will appear to support a separatist movement in Tibet and Xinjiang.

Unlike the rest of the world that stood against Russia’s intervention in Crimea, Syria, Venezuela, and Sri Lanka openly supported Russia’s decision. Bashar al Assad, the president of Syria, stated that he supports Putin’s efforts to “restore security and stability in the friendly country of Ukraine” and that Russia’s reaction to Ukraine is legitimate. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro criticized Ukraine’s “ultra-nationalist” coup. Sri Lanka also showed its support for Russia, describing Yanokovych’s impeachment as unconstitutional and Russia’s intervention in Crimea as justified. India announced that it will not support any “unilateral measures” against Russian government.

Ukraine is a major gas transit nation that supplies the natural gas from Russia to the EU, and the natural gas imported from Russia takes up over a quarter of Europe’s natural gas. Regarding this situation, Tusk called for a change in the energy policy of Europe and warned that Germany’s dependence on Russia’s natural gas poses a great threat to Europe. He announced his plan of talking to Merkel about working together to reduce German and European dependence on Russian gas, thereby preventing “potential aggressive steps by Russia in the future.”

A transition from diplomatic efforts to confrontation could be seen in the overall international reaction to the Russian intervention in Crimea, but this was unavoidable as Russia continued to ignore the other nations’ requests that Russia withdraw its military forces from the Crimean peninsula.