Russian parliament revokes authorization to use force against Ukraine

MOSCOW, June 25 (UPI) -- Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, voted Wednesday to revoke the March 1 resolution authorizing use of force against Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry commented on the Russian decision while attending a NATO meeting in Brussels. "It's a great step... But it could be reversed in 10 minutes, and everybody knows that."

Kerry repeated his call for Russia to de-escalate the crisis with Ukraine by withdrawing its military from the border, stopping the flow of weapons and fighters across its border, and using its influence to convince the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to lay down their weapons.

"Unless Russia fully makes that kind of commitment to the peace process and to the stability of Ukraine, the United States and Europe are compelled to continue to prepare greater costs, including tough economic sanctions, with the hopes that they will not have to be used."

Russian President Vladimir Putin requested that the authorization for the use of force against Ukraine be revoked, claiming that with the beginning of the three-party talks involving Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE, it was a gesture of good will in his support for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's peace plan and temporary cease-fire.