Ukrainian recruits line up to receive military instructions in Kiev's Independence Square on Tuesday, March 4. 
People stand on board the Ukranian navy ship Slavutich at harbor in Sevastopol, Ukraine, on March 4. Mattresses were placed over the side of the ship to hinder any attempted assault. 
A woman photographs pro-Russian soldiers guarding Ukraine's infantry base in Perevalne, Ukraine, on March 4. 
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, wearing a blue scarf, visits a shrine Tuesday, March 4, for the people who were killed during anti-government protests in Kiev, Ukraine, last month. 
Yuli Mamchun, the commander of the Ukrainian military garrison at the Belbek air base near Sevastopol, Ukraine, salutes on March 4. 
Russian soldiers stand guard at the Belbek air base on March 4. 
Ukrainian military members march at the Belbek air base on March 4. 
Russian soldiers fire warning shots to keep back Ukrainian military members at the Belbek air base on March 4. 
A Ukrainian airman puts the Ukrainian national flag over the gate of the Belbek air base as they guard what's left under their control on March 4. 
Russian soldiers aim a grenade launcher and machine gun as they guard positions at the Belbek air base on March 4. 
Ukrainian seamen stand guard on the Ukrainian navy ship Slavutich in the Sevastopol harbor on Monday, March 3. 
Oleg, a Ukrainian soldier, kisses his girlfriend Svetlana through the gates of the Belbek base entrance on March 3. Tensions are high at the base, where Ukrainian soldiers were standing guard inside the building while alleged Russian gunmen were standing guard outside the gates. 
Wives of Ukrainian soldiers walk past Russian soldiers to visit their husbands guarding a military base in Perevalnoye on March 3. 
A Russian soldier guards an area outside Ukraine's military base in the village of Perevalnoye, Ukraine, on March 3. 
A sailor looks out a window near the entrance to the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol on March 3. 
Armed men in military uniform walk outside a Ukrainian military unit near Simferopol, Ukraine, on Sunday, March 2. Hundreds of armed men in trucks and armored vehicles surrounded the Ukrainian base Sunday in Crimea, blocking its soldiers from leaving. 
Soldiers walk outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalne, Ukraine, as a local resident waves a Russian flag March 2. 
Demonstrators shout during a rally in Kiev's Independence Square on March 2. 
Ukrainian soldiers, left, and unidentified gunmen, right, stand at the gate of an infantry base in Perevalnoye on March 2. 
Ukrainian soldiers guard a gate of an infantry base in Perevalnoye on March 2. 
A woman cries during a rally in Independence Square on March 2. 
Protesters hold flags of the United States, Germany and Italy during a rally in Independence Square on March 2. 
People attend a morning prayer service at Independence Square on March 2. 
A soldier and a truck driver unload bread outside the Ukranian navy headquarters in Sevastopol, Ukraine, on March 2. 
Heavily armed troops, displaying no identifying insignia and who were mingling with local pro-Russian militants, stand guard outside a local government building in Simferopol, Ukraine, on March 2. 
A woman waits in front of unidentified men in military fatigues who were blocking a base of the Ukrainian frontier guard unit in Balaklava, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 1. 
U.S. President Barack Obama, in the Oval Office of the White House, talks on the phone March 1 with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 
Troops stand guard in Balaklava on March 1. 
Heavily armed soldiers displaying no identifying insignia maintain watch in Simferopol, Ukraine, on March 1. 
People gather around the coffin of a man who was killed during clashes with riot police in Independence Square. 
Pro-Russian activists hold Russian flags during a rally in the center of Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 1. 
Pro-Russian activists clash with Maidan supporters as they storm the regional government building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 1. 
A protester stands at a memorial March 1 for the people killed in clashes at Independence Square. 
Armed men patrol outside the Simferopol International Airport in Ukraine's Crimea region on Friday, February 28. Simferopol is the regional capital. 
An image provided to CNN by a local resident shows Russian tanks on the move in Sevastopol, Ukraine. 
Russian troops block a road February 28 toward the military airport in Sevastopol, Ukraine. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is based at the port city of Sevastopol. 
Armed men stand guard in front of a building near the Simferopol airport on February 28. 
An armed man wearing no identifying insignia patrols outside Simferopol International Airport on February 28. 
Police stand guard outside the Crimea regional parliament building Thursday, February 27, in Simferopol. Armed men seized the regional government administration building and parliament in Crimea. 
Police intervene as Russian supporters gather in front of the parliament building in Simferopol on February 27. 
A man adds fuel to a fire at a barricade in Independence Square on February 27. Dozens of people were killed last week during clashes between security forces and protesters. 
Pro-Russia demonstrators wave Russian and Crimean flags in front of a local government building in Simferopol on February 27. 
Barricades in front of a government building in Simferopol on February 27 hold a banner that reads: "Crimea Russia." There's a broad divide between those who support the pro-Western developments in Kiev and those who back Russia's continued influence in Crimea and across Ukraine. 
Protesters stand in front of a government building in Simferopol on February 27. Tensions have simmered in the Crimea region since the Ukrainian president's ouster. 
Protesters in support of the president's ouster rally in Independence Square, which has been the center of opposition, on Wednesday, February 26. 
Security forces stand guard during clashes between opposing sides in front of Crimea's parliament building in Simferopol on February 26. 
Pro-Russian demonstrators, right, clash with anti-Russian protesters in front of a government building in Simferopol on February 26. 
A police officer gets pulled into a crowd of Crimean Tatars in Simferopol on February 26. The Tatars, an ethnic minority group deported during the Stalin era, is rallying in support of Ukraine's interim government. 
A man places flowers at a barricade near Independence Square on February 26. 
On February 26 in Kiev, A woman holds a photograph of a protester killed during the height of tensions. 
Police guard a government building in Donetsk on February 26. 
Protesters remove a fence that surrounds Ukraine's parliament in Kiev on February 26. 
People sing the Ukrainian national anthem at Independence Square on Monday, February 24. 
Gas masks used by protesters sit next to a barricade in Independence Square on February 24. 
A woman cries February 24 near a memorial for the people killed in Kiev. 
People wave a large Ukrainian flag in Independence Square on Sunday, February 23. 
Two pro-government supporters are made to pray February 23 in front of a shrine to dead anti-government protesters. 
A man and his daughter lay flowers at a memorial for protesters killed in Independence Square. 
Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko speaks at Independence Square on Saturday, February 22, hours after being released from prison. Tymoshenko, considered a hero of a 2004 revolution against Yanukovych, was released after 2½ years behind bars. 
Tymoshenko is greeted by supporters shortly after being freed from prison in Kharkiv on February 22. 
A protester guards the entrance to Yanukovych's abandoned residence outside Kiev on February 22. 
Anti-government protesters guard the streets next to the presidential offices in Kiev on February 22. 
Anti-government protesters drive a military vehicle in Independence Square on February 22. Many protesters said they wouldn't leave the square until Yanukovych resigned. 
Ukrainian lawmakers argue during a session of Parliament on Friday, February 21. 
Men in Kiev carry a casket containing the body of a protester killed in clashes with police. 
Protesters cheer after news of an agreement between the opposing sides in Kiev on February 21.
- NEW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says there was a military coup in Ukraine
- French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says EU will consider sanctions against Russia
- "The invasion of one country into another is contrary to all international laws," he says
- Russian lawmakers threaten seizure of EU, U.S. assets in Russia if sanctions are imposed
(CNN) -- The European Union will consider sanctions against Russia if there is no deescalation in the Ukraine crisis, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Wednesday.
Possible sanctions will be on the agenda when EU leaders meet Thursday, he said via Twitter.
"The invasion of one country into another is contrary to all international laws. We must return to dialogue and to bear in mind that Ukraine should work with Russia and the EU," he said.
"We cannot accept, we members of the international community, a country that invades another."
Russian forces remain in effective control of Ukraine's southern Crimea region, in a tense standoff with Ukrainian forces loyal to the new interim government in Kiev.
Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers are working on a draft law to allow the confiscation of assets belonging to European or U.S. companies if sanctions are imposed, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said Wednesday.
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Poroshenko: Peace is our top priority Andrei Klishas, a senior lawmaker in the upper parliament house, said the bill "would offer the president and government opportunities to defend our sovereignty from threats," the news agency reported.
It comes after a day of warring words Tuesday, when a defiant Russian President Vladimir Putin denied Russian troops were in Crimea but reserved the right to take military action to protect the safety of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine.
He also slammed the interim government, which replaced ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, a Russian ally, as illegitimate.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday took a similar line.
He said the crisis had begun when the international community failed to react to the anti-government protests which preceded Yanukovych's ouster.
"There was a military coup and the legitimate president was removed by methods which were not in the constitution or legislation," he said.
"If we are so lenient to the people who are trying to govern our neighbor everyone must realize a bad example can be spread and there shouldn't be any double standards."
Decisions on whether international observers should be sent into Ukraine are for leaders in the country to make, he said. He pointed out that the newly installed pro-Russian government in Crimea does not see the authorities in Kiev as legitimate.
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia of making up reasons for intervention in Ukraine, saying "not a single piece of credible evidence supports any one of these claims."
Diplomatic efforts
As the high-stakes showdown in the Russian-majority Crimea region continues, diplomatic efforts to end the crisis continue apace.
NATO members are set to meet with Russia's ambassador to the alliance, amid concerns that the crisis could spread.
Lavrov also held talks with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Madrid, and is set to meet with Kerry later on Paris during international talks on Lebanon.
Speaking in Madrid, Lavrov said stabilization of the situation must be based on a February agreement between ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition groups which called for early elections, constitutional reforms and the disbanding of illegal armed groups.
Meanwhile, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt will meet with his Danish and Norwegian counterparts in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, he said on Twitter.
Stability fears
Tuesday's diplomatic efforts bore little fruit. But some observers saw a positive sign in Putin ordering Russian troops who were on mass military exercises close to the border with Ukraine back to their bases.
No violence has yet erupted in Crimea, where Russian troops control military bases and key installations, but tensions are high.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to construct what a senior U.S. administration official characterized as an "off-ramp" for Putin by having international observers in Crimea to ensure ethnic Russians' rights aren't violated.
President Barack Obama floated this idea in a call Saturday with Putin, and he and Merkel talked about it Tuesday.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday that despite repeated calls by the international community, "Russia continues to violate Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and continues to violate its international commitments."
The developments represent serious implications for the security and stability for the Euro-Atlantic area, he said.
CNN's Michael Holmes, Khushbu Shah, Neda Farshbaf and Larry Register contributed to this report.
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