West, Russia standoff worst since Cold War

KIEV: Russia cemented its control of the flashpoint Crimean peninsula without firing a shot while markets plunged on Monday and world leaders held a series of crisis talks over the worst standoff between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.

The price of oil surged on fears of an all-out conflict as Russia looked set to send troops into eastern parts of Ukraine, an area with close ties to Russia that the Kremlin has vowed to protect from “ultranationalist forces.”