White House, EU Urge Putin to Help De-Escalate Tension or Face New Sanctions
By Lukas I. Alpert And Paul Sonne
Updated June 23, 2014 4:21 p.m. ET
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
MOSCOW—Separatist leaders in Ukraine agreed Monday to join a government-declared cease fire as a first step toward peace talks, marking a potential breakthrough in a two-month-old rebellion in the country's east.
New volunteers of the pro-Russian army of Donetsk People's Republic take part in a memorial rally in Donetsk, Ukraine, on June 22. European Pressphoto Agency
The declaration came after the highest-level, face-to-face meeting yet between the pro-Russia separatist leaders and a representative of Ukraine's newly elected President Petro Poroshenko.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called the developments a positive step. Russia's Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, who also attended the talks, said the rebels would "in the nearest future" be ready to discuss "the achievement of a lasting truce and stable peace...and second, the start of an inclusive negotiation process."
The U.S. and European Union warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the threat of punishing new sanctions against Russia remained unless he did more to help de-escalate the crisis. But if the cease fire holds and talks appear to be progressing, the likelihood of any quick imposition would diminish.
The rebel announcement was broadcast live on Russian state television.
"We agree to suspend all fighting from our side" until Friday, when the cease-fire announced June 20 is set to expire at 10 a.m. local time, said Alexander Borodai, the self-proclaimed prime minister of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic, comprising Ukraine's Donetsk region.
"We hope that over the period of this cease-fire by both sides, we will be able to agree to begin consultations on negotiations on a peaceful resolution to the conflict," he said.
Another separatist leader said the rebels would also move to release a group of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who were taken captive several weeks ago.
Mr. Borodai said he hoped Russia and the OSCE would together monitor the region to ensure both sides abide by the terms of the cease-fire.
Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma represented Mr. Poroshenko at Monday's meeting, which took place at a rebel-held government building in the Donetsk regional capital. He said he was looking forward to a "normal peace process."
"I hope that, God willing, we will gradually resolve all the problems," he said.
The U.S. State Department took note of the separatists' decision to go along with the cease fire, but said they were watching for evidence of an actual halt in hostilities.
"There are words out there people have spoken about supporting the cease-fire, but we haven't seen actions taken to back that up yet," said spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
The White House said earlier that President Barack Obama spoke with Mr. Putin on Monday and urged him to cut off aid to separatists and support a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine.
"Though we believe that a diplomatic solution is still possible, Russia will face additional costs if we do not see concrete actions to de-escalate the situation," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
Moscow has denied providing military support to the rebels.
Mr. Earnest said the U.S. is calling on Mr. Putin to "personally use his influence to try to promote greater peace and stability in eastern Ukraine."
European leaders are set to discuss a tougher round of sanctions against Russia at a meeting on Friday. Europe, along with the U.S., have said repeatedly they are ready to move if the situation in Ukraine deteriorates.
However, there are disagreements within the EU about what should trigger that step and many European governments are reluctant to risk an all-out economic conflict with Moscow.
"There is an opportunity now for everybody in eastern Ukraine if they support the plan put forward by President Poroshenko," said U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday. "And in the absence of that, the European Union will be able to take further measures, further sanctions on Russia. Those measures are ready…so we now look to Russia to support the peace plan."
The Donetsk meeting—which was held in a room decorated with the separatist flag—was a significant step by both sides. The two sides, however, remain far apart.
Russian news outlets reported that local residents threw debris and hit the car Mr. Kuchma arrived in to show their anger with Kiev.
Kiev has been reluctant to acknowledge the separatist leaders as partners, and Mr. Poroshenko for weeks has said he wouldn't negotiate with anyone with "blood on their hands," despite pressure from the Kremlin for the government to engage in unconditional talks.
Rebels had previously scoffed at the cease-fire and earlier Monday, Mr. Borodai said rebel forces would only put down their weapons if the government pulled back its forces from the two regions under militant control and recognized them as independent republics.
Monday's agreement to a large degree puts the ball back in Kiev's court.
Underlying the tenuous nature of the possible rapprochement, Oleg Tsaryov, another rebel leader, suggested the next round of talks be held in Slovyansk, a militant stronghold. That city has been controlled by Igor Strelkov, commander of the Donetsk separatists' paramilitary army, who was among those Mr. Poroshenko has labeled as "criminals."
But there were signs Monday that the situation was calming. The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council reported that as of 5 p.m. local time, rebel fighters had stopped shooting at government positions in the east.
The first signs of a possible thaw emerged when Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian politician known for his close ties to the Kremlin, and Nestor Shufrych, a member of the political party of former President Viktor Yanukovych, confirmed that they would meet with government representatives as intermediaries for the rebels. Heidi Tagliavini, head of the OSCE mission in Ukraine, also attended.
Mr. Kuchma, Ukraine's second president after independence in 1991, long sought to balance ties between Russia and the West. But he set the stage for the pro-Western Orange Revolution in 2004 when he tried, along with Mr. Medvedchuk, his one-time chief of staff, to engineer the election of Mr. Yanukovych as his successor.
Instead, pro-Western and anti-Kremlin president Viktor Yushchenko emerged victorious. But Mr. Yanukovych, a Kremlin ally, eventually became president in 2010. His ouster in February following months of pro-Western protests triggered the current unrest in eastern Ukraine, a stronghold of Russian speakers with close ties to neighboring Russia.
The turn of events came after a weekend of continued clashes.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry said rebels on Sunday had shelled 11 government positions in the regions of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk, and continued the attacks early Monday.
A spokesman for the government's military operation said Monday that over the past 24 hours, six convoys and government roadblocks had been ambushed by militants firing mortars and sniper rifles, wounding five soldiers and one border guard.
Rebel leaders, however, accused the government's forces of failing to abide by the cease-fire. Mr. Poroshenko has stressed that despite the cease-fire, Ukrainian forces would return fire if fired upon.
—Laurence Norman, Katya Gorchinskaya and Jeffrey Sparshott contributed to this article.
Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com and Paul Sonne at paul.sonne@wsj.com
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
24062014
___________
Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
No comments:
Post a Comment