ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION<br/> <br />STORY: President Barack Obama said on Thursday that a proposed referendum in Crimea to join Russia would violate international law and said U.S. sanctions were aimed at punishing Moscow for its intervention in Ukraine.<br/> <br />"The proposed referendum on the future of Crimea would violate the Ukrainian constitution and violate international law," Obama told reporters at the White House.<br/> <br />"Any discussion about the future of Ukraine must include the legitimate government of Ukraine," he said.
