Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption David Cameron: "There's not going to be a G8 summit this year in Russia" 
 
 The G8 summit will not take place in Russia this year, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said. 
 
 Speaking in the Netherlands, Mr Cameron said it was "absolutely clear" the planned June meeting of world leaders in the Russian resort of Sochi would not happen owing to events in Ukraine. 
 
 The EU and US have imposed sanctions on Russian officials after Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. 
 
 Moscow has also been warned of further action if it does not change course. 
 
 The announcement that the Sochi meeting had been effectively cancelled came after Russian troops seized control of the last major military base in Crimea. 
 
 Mr Cameron, US President Barack Obama and other G8 leaders are attending a nuclear co-operation summit in The Hague, to which Russian President Vladimir Putin was not invited. 
 
 'Illegal annexation' 
 
 "We should be clear there's not going to be a G8 summit in Russia," Mr Cameron said, urging Russia to "change course". 
 
 The G7 leaders plus EU representatives issued a declaration after their meeting in The Hague noting that "international law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state's territory through coercion or force". 
 
 Image copyright AFP 
 
 "To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built," they said. 
 
 "We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine's constitution. We also strongly condemn Russia's illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations. We do not recognise either." 
 
 Russia's actions would have "significant consequences", they continued. 
 
 "We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation. 
 
 "Russia has a clear choice to make. Diplomatic avenues to de-escalate the situation remain open, and we encourage the Russian government to take them." 
 
 UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said there was an increasing recognition that European leaders wanted to stop relying so heavily on Russian oil and gas. 
 
 The G7 had to be prepared to take more far-reaching measures in response to the developments, he said. 
 
 The UK and other G8 nations suspended their preparations for the Sochi summit last month as the crisis in Ukraine intensified and hinted that they could meet without Russia. 
 
 Several G8 members have also called for Russia's membership of the powerful body to be suspended. 
 
 The BBC's Europe correspondent Matthew Price said the end of the Sochi summit was a recognition of Russia's isolation on the global stage as a result of what it had done in Ukraine. 
 
 The US, UK and other countries, he added, were making clear they did not want Russia "in their club" unless it reconsidered its actions in Crimea. ||||| Story highlights Industrialized powers acted to penalize Russia over Crimea 
 
 Obama in the Netherlands says the U.S. and European allies united in imposing costs on Russia 
 
 Russian foreign minister downplays effect of losing G8 membership 
 
 U.S. will concentrate on diplomatic, economic moves against Moscow 
 
 President Barack Obama and other world leaders have decided to end Russia's role in the group of leading industrialized nations, the White House said Monday. 
 
 The move to suspend Russia's membership in the G8 is the latest direct response from major countries allied against Russia's annexation of Crimea. 
 
 "International law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state's territory through coercion or force," the statement said. "To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built. We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine's constitution. 
 
 "We also strongly condemn Russia's illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations." 
 
 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier in the day that being kicked out of G8 would be no big deal. 
 
 "G8 is an informal organization that does not give out any membership cards and, by its definition, cannot remove anyone," he said during a news conference. " All the economic and financial questions are decided in G20, and G8 has the purpose of existence as the forum of dialogue between the leading Western countries and Russia." 
 
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 Lavrov added that Russia was "not attached to this format and we don't see a great misfortune if it will not gather. Maybe, for a year or two, it will be an experiment for us to see how we live without it." 
 
 In a nod to political and economic reforms, the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy added Russia to their group in 1998 -- transforming it from the G7 to the G8. 
 
 An aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed to CNN that a group summit initially planned for June in Sochi, Russia, where the Winter Olympics were just held, is now off. 
 
 The United States and its allies in Europe are "united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far," Obama said earlier in the Netherlands where he attended a nuclear security summit with other world leaders. 
 
 Western powers have imposed sanctions and other penalties against specific people in Russia close to President Vladimir Putin. 
 
 A senior Obama administration official, not speaking for full attribution, said Obama and other leaders agreed that further steps to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin could include sanctions on energy, banking and defense sectors -- all areas where Europe is deeply engaged economically with Russia. 
 
 Those additional sanctions could be prompted if Russia further escalates its incursion into Ukraine, which the official defined as sending troops beyond Crimea into the southern or eastern parts of the country. Violence in the contested peninsula could also trigger further sanctions. 
 
 While the official said further penetration of Ukraine by Russian troops remains the most immediate source of concern for the United States, other potential land grabs also worry the United States and its allies. 
 
 NATO has expressed concern Russia could attempt to reclaim a region of Moldova with Russian sympathies. 
 
 Obama has said a military incursion in Ukraine is off the table, and his advisers are hesitant to even frame the crisis in Ukraine as a bad '80s flashback -- Obama in one corner, Putin in the other. It's not "Rocky IV," as Secretary of State John Kerry said. 
 
 White House officials don't care to publicly muse about Putin's intentions. 
 
 National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the Russian President's actions speak for themselves. 
 
 The White House emphasis throughout the Russian occupation of Crimea has been "de-escalation." 
 
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 Asked whether the United States will provide military aid to Ukraine's woefully underfunded armed forces, administration officials cautioned that such assistance could inflame tensions. 
 
 "Our focus has been and remains on the economic and diplomatic instruments at this point," Rice said. "Our interest is not in seeing the situation escalate and devolve into hot conflict." 
 
 Lavrov met with Kerry on Monday and said Russia's action in Crimea was necessary. 
 
 "It was the necessity to protect Russians who live there and who lived there for centuries," he said in the news conference. "And when our partners compare Crimea to Kosovo, because in Kosovo a lot of blood was shed then its independence was proclaimed. So we have a question then: Is it necessary for the blood to be shed in Crimea to agree on the right of the people in Crimea for self-determination?" 
 
 While Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the United States are stepping up their calls to provide Ukraine with light arms and other military aid, administration officials have argued that sanctions put in place so far must be given time to take hold. 
 
 With an estimated 20,000 Russian troops on Ukraine's border, the question is whether Obama's use of soft power will deter Putin. 
 
 With little resistance, the Russian President could easily move into eastern Ukraine even as Obama seeks to isolate Moscow in meetings with European allies. It's a possibility not lost on senior administration officials. 
 
 House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican, argued the Russian leader is likely eying more opportunities in the coming days. 
 
 "(Putin) has put all the military units he would need to move into Ukraine on its eastern border and is doing exercises. We see him moving forces in the south in a position where they could take the southern region over to Moldova," Rogers said on NBC's "Meet the Press." 
 
 There are other approaches. Obama's former ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, urged the administration to intensify its policy of isolating Putin. 
 
 "Mr. Putin's Russia has no real allies. We must keep it that way," McFaul wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times. ||||| Story highlights On Syria, Putin says he and Obama "agreed to push the parties to the negotiating table" 
 
 Obama says it's important to make sure chemical weapons don't proliferate in Syria 
 
 Cameron: G8 summit aims to "fire up our economies and drive growth" 
 
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 Russian President Vladimir Putin says he still doesn't see eye to eye with the United States on Syria. 
 
 But "all of us have the intention to stop the violence in Syria ... and to solve this situation peacefully," Putin said Monday after a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the Group of Eight Summit in Northern Ireland. 
 
 Putin said he and Obama "agreed to push the parties to the negotiating table." But the Russian president didn't specify who could be involved in Syria talks, when they would take place or what their end goal would be. 
 
 The G8 summit comes days after the United States pledged to play a greater role in assisting Syrian rebels, citing evidence that President Bashar al-Assad's regime used chemical weapons against the rebels and his own people. The move was backed by seven of the eight nations represented at this week's conference in Loch Erne, while Russia remains the sole G8 nation supporting al-Assad. 
 
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 And global leaders at the conference are poised to pressure Putin over his support for Syria's government. 
 
 On Monday, Obama stressed the importance of making sure chemical weapons "are neither used nor subject to proliferation" in Syria -- a topic that Putin didn't mention in his public remarks after meeting with the U.S. president. 
 
 Russia has downplayed the claims of chemical weapons use, and Putin has opposed outside intervention into the county's 2-year-old internal conflict. 
 
 On Sunday, Putin sharply criticized the decision to provide arms to Syrian rebels, referencing a widely circulated video of an opposition fighter appearing to eat the heart of a dead solider. 
 
 Speaking to reporters in London after meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Putin warned against arming Syrian rebels "who kill their enemies and eat their organs." 
 
 "Do you want to support these people? Do you want to supply arms to these people?" Putin asked. 
 
 Putin warns against arming organ-eating Syrian rebels 
 
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 The White House announcement last week that it was increasing the "size and scope" of its material support to Syrian rebels came after months of political debate over the U.S. role in the conflict. Great Britain and France, two other G8 members, were strong backers of the May decision to end the European Union arms embargo on Syria, and both countries asserted that al-Assad's regime had used chemical weapons before the United States did. 
 
 The meeting between Obama and Putin Monday was the first time the two leaders have spoken face to face since last year's G-20 summit in Mexico. 
 
 "It's in Russia's interest to join us in applying pressure on Bashar al-Assad to come to the table in a way that relinquishes his power and his standing in Syria, because we don't see any scenario where he restores his legitimacy to lead the country," Obama's deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes noted before Monday's meeting. 
 
 Other G8 nations have expressed similar viewpoints, calling on Russia to back United Nations intervention in Syria. Russia's permanent position on the United Nations Security Council has made action through that body difficult for countries intent on removing al-Assad from power. 
 
 After meeting with Putin on Monday, Obama said the possibility of negotiations remains on the table. 
 
 "We want to try to resolve the issue through political means, if possible," Obama said. 
 
 Before this week's meetings, the U.S. president spoke by videoconference with the leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Germany to discuss "ways to support a political transition to end the conflict" in Syria, the White House said. 
 
 The White House has not yet publicly specified what exact steps it would take to support members of Syria's opposition, though sources have told CNN small arms, ammunition and possibly anti-tank weapons would be part of the assistance package. 
 
 On Friday, Rhodes said further discussions with other nations were necessary to determine next steps. 
 
 Though Syria will likely dominate discussions behind the scenes at this week's summit, leaders began the conference Monday by heralding a possible trade deal they said could create millions of jobs. 
 
 The first round of negotiations for a trans-Atlantic trade agreement between the United States and the European Union will take place next month in Washington, Obama said. 
 
 "I believe that we can form an economic alliance as strong as our diplomatic and security alliances," he told reporters after the leaders of eight of the world's most powerful nations kicked off their meeting. 
 
 "The whole point of this meeting ... is to fire up our economies and drive growth and prosperity around the world. ... There's no better way than by launching these negotiations on a landmark deal between the European Union and the United states of America," Cameron said. 
 
 Cameron, the host of this week's conference, named the problem of tax avoidance by large corporations as a central issue for G8 leaders to resolve at this year's summit. The British prime minister hopes to secure agreements among nations on sharing tax information, with the goal of ensuring global companies aren't able to dodge tax bills. 
 
 The measure met resistance from firms' chief executives, though Cameron said he's willing to withstand corporate ire for a fairer global tax system. 
 
 "You don't get anywhere unless you are prepared to give the lead and perhaps make a few enemies along the way," Cameron said. "In setting the G8 agenda around trade, tax and transparency, yes, you are taking on some vested interests, you are taking on some difficult decisions. But actually will it help both the developing world and us in the West? I believe it can." 
 
 While in Europe, Obama will also likely be forced to defend U.S. Internet surveillance techniques that were disclosed in a series of newspaper articles in early June. The intelligence programs, which were previously considered top secret, involved large tech companies who operate globally, including Facebook, Google and Yahoo. 
 
 Snowden says online he had to 'get out' of the U.S. before leaks ||||| Following his cancellation of a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama may infuriate the Kremlin further by meeting Russian human rights activists, including LGBT rights groups, during his upcoming trip to St. Petersburg for the G20 summit. 
 
 Four Russian non-governmental organizations told BuzzFeed Monday they had been invited to the meeting, scheduled for this Thursday at St. Petersburg’s Crowne Plaza Hotel. The groups include veteran human rights activists Lev Ponomarev and Lyudmila Alexeyeva, legal aid NGO director Pavel Chikov, and Coming Out, a St. Petersburg-based LGBT organization. Another local LGBT group, the LGBT Network, is believed to be attending, though director Igor Kochetkov declined to comment to BuzzFeed, saying that he had been “asked not to say anything.” 
 
 Election monitoring group Golos is also believed to have been invited, though BuzzFeed could not reach its director or deputy director to confirm. Russia’s justice ministry forced Golos, which used to receive funding from USAID, to disband this summer under a law on “foreign agents” that many believed was created specifically to target the group. 
 
 Obama’s trip to Russia for a summit of the Group of 20 industrialized nations comes amid a deep rift between the U.S. and Russia, not least over the countries’ competing stances on Syria. Obama was due to hold a one-on-one meeting with Putin in Moscow before heading to the summit, but abruptly called that off last month in the wake of deteriorating relations and Russia’s sheltering of NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden. Putin has repeatedly accused members of Russia’s civil society as being in the pay of the U.S. State Department. 
 
 Thursday’s meeting is not unique or unprecedented. Obama met with civil society and opposition activists during his last visit to Russia in 2009. George W. Bush met with NGOs during the G8 summit in 2006. 
 
 It is believed to be the first time Obama has met with members of the Russian LGBT community. Asked about Russia’s anti-LGBT law in August, Obama told Jay Leno that he had “no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.” 
 
 A U.S. Embassy representative did not return several requests for comment. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption William Hague: "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine has been violated" 
 
 The UK has pulled out of preparatory talks for the G8 summit because of Russia's build-up of troops in the Ukrainian region of Crimea. 
 
 The summit is due to be hosted by Russia in the city of Sochi. 
 
 Prince Edward, patron of the British Paralympic Association, has cancelled a visit to Russia for the Paralympic Games in Sochi, on government advice. 
 
 Downing Street said David Cameron and Barack Obama had spoken and agreed that Russia's actions were "unacceptable". 
 
 A spokesman said: "The prime minister and President Obama spoke at 9pm tonight [Sunday]. 
 
 "They agreed that Russia's actions were completely unacceptable. They agreed on the urgent need for de-escalation and for Russia to engage in a dialogue directly with Ukraine. 
 
 "They agreed there must be 'significant costs' to Russia if it did not change course on Ukraine." 
 
 The spokesman said Mr Cameron was also speaking to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite on Sunday evening. 
 
 Mr Cameron said British ministers would also now not attend the Paralympic Games. 
 
 British Paralympic Association chief executive Tim Hollingsworth told BBC Sport: "We completely understand the decisions that have been taken that mean UK ministers and His Royal Highness The Prince Edward will not attend the Sochi Paralympic Games. 
 
 "We are grateful for their continued full support for the British team to compete in Sochi. That remains our prime focus, the team are all in Sochi as of tomorrow [Monday] and training hard." 
 
 A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Cameron remained "fully supportive of our Paralympic athletes' participation at Sochi". 
 
 Earlier, Foreign Secretary William Hague flew to Kiev for talks with Ukraine's new leaders, amid rising tension with Russia. 
 
 Ukrainian acting president Olexander Turchynov has ordered a full mobilisation of Ukrainian military forces. 
 
 Mr Hague has said he will reiterate UK support for Ukraine's sovereignty. 
 
 The West has responded to the Ukraine crisis with frenetic diplomatic activity. But beyond strong words of condemnation, real pressure on Moscow appears muted. William Hague said his overwhelming priority was to calm tensions. He urged Russia to speak directly to the Ukrainians. In terms of sanctions, he said Britain and others would suspend preparatory meetings of the G8 summit in June. Mr Hague seemed to want to appear even-handed. He also had a firm message for the Kiev government - calling on them not to respond to provocation and to protect the Russian speaking minorities to avoid any pretext for Russia to expand its military ambitions. It looks doubtful there are any more forceful options which the West would be prepared to use to loosen Russia's hold on Crimea. NATO has no legally binding alliance with Ukraine. So even though its secretary general said today that Russia's actions were threatening peace and security in Europe, military intervention is not on the cards. 
 
 Before leaving for Kiev, Mr Hague said: "We have to recognise the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine has been violated and this cannot be the way to conduct international affairs. 
 
 "And so, in addition to calling yesterday's emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the United Kingdom will join other G8 countries this week in suspending our co-operation under the G8, which Russia chairs this year, including the meetings this week for the preparation of the G8 summit." 
 
 He said Britain would keep its approach to further G8 meetings under review. 
 
 In Brussels, Nato held emergency talks about Russia's move to take control of Crimea. 
 
 Just before the meeting, Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia's troop deployments violated the principles of the United Nations charter and threatened peace and security in Europe. 
 
 "Russia must stop its military activities and its threats," he said. 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption British-based Ukrainians staged a protest outside Russia's embassy in London 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption The protest was occasionally noisy but remained peaceful 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption Some protesters aimed their criticism at President Putin personally 
 
 Image caption Many also gathered near the Ukrainian embassy 
 
 Image caption They congregated around a statue of St Volodymyr , who is credited with introducing Ukraine to Christianity 
 
 The Ukrainian government has said it will seek the help of US and UK leaders to guarantee its security. 
 
 The interim prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said Russia's military moves amounted to a "declaration of war". 
 
 Crimea key facts Autonomous republic within Ukraine 
 
 Most residents speak Russian and identify as ethnic Russians 
 
 Some others are anti-Russian 
 
 Russia leases naval base in Crimean city of Sevastopol 
 
 Moscow has deployed its troops outside the base and sent extra troops from Russia Why Crimea is so dangerous 
 
 On Saturday, President Obama held a 90-minute telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him to pull his forces back to bases in Crimea. 
 
 Mr Putin says Russia reserves the right to protect its interests and those of Russian speakers in Ukraine. 
 
 The Foreign Office says Mr Hague will make clear the UK's support for Ukraine's new government, which was formed after the ousting of former president Viktor Yanukovych in a popular uprising last month. 
 
 His removal from power followed four months of street protests that culminated in bloody clashes between demonstrators and security forces. 
 
 On Saturday, Mr Hague said the UK would work with international partners to "ensure that reforms by Ukraine are matched by international willingness to provide economic support". 
 
 From the scene: An expat's view David* is a British citizen living with his Ukrainian wife and three-year-old daughter in Simferopol, Crimea. It would appear that trains are no longer running, so our only option is a flight out, now that the airspace has been reopened. It is clear that any foreign citizen must remain at home. Apparently an American man was severely beaten only yesterday, without any real provocation. From our perspective, it is clear that Russian authorities are firmly in control here. We can only pray that Ukrainian forces do not rise to the provocation and begin a conflict, despite the injury to the integrity of the country. We would urge William Hague to push this point home to them. The news that reserve forces have been called up is therefore deeply discouraging. * David is not his real name. He spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity 
 
 He said Britain would also help Ukraine recover corruptly acquired assets. 
 
 BBC world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan said Mr Hague was likely to urge the Ukrainian government not to do anything to provoke Russia, in order not to give Moscow a pretext for further military action. 
 
 Mr Hague said it was also important that Russia spoke to the Ukrainian authorities directly. 
 
 Russia, which rejects the legitimacy of Ukraine's new leaders, has so far refused to do so. 
 
 Former Conservative foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said the situation was the "most serious crisis since the end of the Cold War". 
 
 "This needs to be a defining moment and Putin needs to understand this... in the West's relationship with Russia," he said. 
 
 A former British ambassador to Moscow, Sir Tony Brenton, said Mr Hague must "damp down" the tension between Russia and Ukraine. 
 
 He said: "[President Putin] has just seen his man, in effect, [Viktor] Yanukovych, overthrown by what he sees as a Western instigated revolt. He [Putin] is determined to maintain Russian influence in Ukraine as a whole, and he has now taken Crimea... hostage." 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Former British ambassador to Moscow, Sir Tony Brenton, says Crimea has been "taken hostage" by President Putin 
 
 Labour leader Ed Miliband said there could be "no justification" for Russian military action in Ukraine. 
 
 "I believe diplomatic and economic pressure we can put on Russia is the best hope we can have for what everyone wants to see, which is the de-escalation of this crisis," he said. 
 
 In London, hundreds of Ukrainians staged two protests, one near the Russian embassy and the other at the Ukrainian embassy. 
 
 The demonstrators chanted slogans and held up banners that said "Hands off Ukraine". Similar protests were held in other European capitals. 
 
 The Foreign Office is advising against all travel to Crimea, and urging British nationals in Crimea to leave. 
 
 It said train and bus routes out of the peninsula were still operating, but it did not advise British nationals to try to leave by air from Simferopol until the situation had become more stable.
– The other seven members of the G8 are calling off the meeting Russia was supposed to host in Sochi in June, David Cameron revealed today. Cameron, President Obama, and the other leaders of the G7 nations—which is to say the G8 minus Russia—are holding an emergency meeting at the Hague today, on the sidelines of a nuclear summit. "There's not going to be a G8 summit in Russia," Cameron said, according to the BBC. "That's absolutely clear. … Frankly, it is Russia that needs to change course." If Russia doesn't change, the nations have hinted that more sanctions could be on the way—and that could be bad news for Russia. Some banks are predicting that the sanctions already have Russia headed toward recession. The Russian bank SMP has seen $258 million withdrawn since the US sanctioned it, according to Voice of America. Ordinary Russians feel it is they, not Vladimir Putin or his inner circle, who will be hurt most, USA Today reports. But the US might have a secret weapon; Bloomberg has a fascinating piece on a Russian billionaire currently being detained on a US warrant who might fork over crucial information on Gazprom that could really hurt Putin's inner circle.