President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is ready to talk with Moscow. Until recently, he preferred to talk exclusively with Western partners - the United States and the EU. Against Russia, there were only ultimatums and provocation in the form of shells at border areas.
But the time of bravado has passed. Kiev has not been able to suppress the resistance of the Donbas by force, and the long war is depleting the already frail Ukrainian economy. Efforts to get out of the crisis with the help of the European Union have also failed. The Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU was signed, but so far it has brought continuous problems only. Preferential interest rates, tariffs and principles of interaction of Kiev with the Customs Union - Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan will inevitably be revised or canceled now. This is a significant drawback. And the advantages exist only on paper and could be realized only in the distant future.
Brussels wants to try to somehow alleviate the situation. At the meeting in Minsk, Poroshenko will be personally accompanied by Baroness Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner for Energy Guenther Oettinger and Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht. Their task is not so much to help Kiev as to protect themselves against falling into the abyss towards which they are being drawn by Ukraine. Here is a commentary by the president of the foundation "Politics" Vyacheslav Nikonov:
"European officials will, of course, try to shift the burden of supporting the Ukrainian economy on the Customs Union, including Russia, since it is obvious that the European Union can not afford to pull this huge burden created by the "crumbling Ukrainian economy,". But then EU was not planning to do so either. I think they will try to play the role of seekers, but act from a position of strength, because it was they who introduced sanctions against Russia. On the other hand, the EU itself has experienced the effects of a very moderate and calm response of Russia concerning the ban on food imports."
For Russia and other countries of the Customs Union, the economic component of the negotiations is, of course, important. But more important is the situation in the south-east of Ukraine. Ukrainian military operation by its security forces against the militias in Donbas must be stopped not tomorrow, but today. Humanitarian catastrophe in the region has been recognized even by Western politicians and organizations. As long as shelling continues, it is impossible to restore water, electricity, bakeries, hospitals, homes irrespective of how much money sponsors may allocate for this purpose.
But so far the words of Poroshenko about his desire for peace are not confirmed by actions. Just like all the other promises of the Kiev authorities. On April 17 in Geneva, participants of talks on Ukraine in the format of "Russia, the USA, the EU and Ukraine" agreed on an urgent de-escalation of the situation in the south-east. The participants spoke about the constitutional reform, inter-ethnic dialogue, delegation of power from the center to the regions. There has been no progress in any of these issues. Later, after assuming the office of the President, Poroshenko also talked about the new constitution and decentralization of Ukraine. And again, without any progress.
Now Kiev is being reminded of its promises by its partners fron the EU. Sigmar Gabriel, Vice-Chancellor of Germany, itself a Federal Republic, said that the concept of federalization will help find a way out of the current situation in Ukraine. Later, Angela Merkel spoke about the same thing after a meeting in Kiev with President Poroshenko. According to her, this would contribute to the restoration of peace in the country. And it does not matter how you name this process - decentralization or federalization. The main thing is that the rights of all the citizens of Ukraine must be protected, regardless of nationality, language, religion.
On all these issues there is a chance to find common grounds at the meeting in Minsk. It is clear that the parties are set for a long and hard bargaining. But the fact that Kiev and Brussels are to negotiate with Moscow, Minsk and Astana, suggests that the views of the European politicians are undergoing significant changes.
http://indian.ruvr.ru
25/8/14
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Far-right ‘Russian Jihad’ fighters cross into Ukraine...
ReplyDeleteSince the beginning of the conflict between the Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, Moscow has repeatedly denied sending troops or weapons to help the rebels.
Nevertheless, many Russian fighters have crossed the border into Ukraine to fight what they call “Kiev’s fascist junta”.
Recruited by far-right nationalist movements, these men are ideologically driven to fight what has been nicknamed “the Russian Jihad”.
FRANCE 24 joined a group of these would-be fighters as they headed for the combat zone.
‘Russian imperialist nationalists’
Evgeny Mazepin is a recruiter for the self-styled “Russian Volunteer battalion”.
He works out of an office in the city of Voronezh, 500km south of Moscow and 150km from the Ukrainian border.
“Ideologically we are all Russian imperialist nationalists, descendants of the White Guard,” he explains, in reference to the anti-communist forces that waged a civil war against the Bolsheviks in the years immediately after the 1917 Russian Revolution.
“Every day we receive about 10 applications from candidates who want to join the battalion,” he says. “Our aim is to liberate the land we call Novorossiya – New Russia – and its Russian people from the enemy, the Kiev junta.”.......................http://www.france24.com/en/focus/20140826-far-right-russian-jihad-fighters-cross-ukraine/
Russian servicemen have accidentally crossed the Ukrainian border in a patrol area and have not offered resistance during detention, a Russian Defense Ministry source told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday in comments on the incident....
ReplyDelete"The servicemen in question were indeed on patrol of a stretch of the Russian-Ukrainian border; they apparently crossed it accidentally in an undeveloped area containing no signs," the official said, adding that "as far as we know, they did not offer resistance to the Ukrainian armed forces during detention."
The Russian Defense Ministry underlined that Ukrainian troops had repeatedly crossed the Russian border. "Ukrainian servicemen repeatedly entered the Russian territory separately or in groups totalling more than 500, with weapons in hands and carried by armored vehicles and we didn't make much noise about it, simply returning to a safe place in the Ukrainian territory all those who wished so," he said.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/746663