WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - The United States flatly rejects efforts by pro-Russian forces to hold a "contrived and bogus" referendum in Eastern Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.
"We also are very concerned about efforts of pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk to organize, frankly, (a) contrived and bogus independence referendum on May 11," he told a news conference with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
"We flatly reject this illegal effort to further divide Ukraine," he added, saying he and his European counterparts would meet in Europe next week to discuss next steps. (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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