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'Easter truce' called in east of Ukraine

PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle 20.04.2014 07:47
"The anti-terrorist operation has been put on hold," Ukraine's foreign minister said on Saturday, as pro-Russian groups continue to occupy government buildings in up to 10 towns and cities.

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A pro-Russian protestor relaxes on a seized armored vehicle in front of an occupied police station in Slaviansk, Ukraine, 19 April 2014. Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine vowed 19 April to defy an international de-escalation deal until the government in Kiev agrees to conditions including withdrawing troops. Russia, the United States, the European Union and Ukraine on 17 April had agreed on steps to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine during talks in Geneva, Switzerland: photo - EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY

"We will not be using force [against pro-Russian groups occupying buildings] at this time," Andriy Deshchytsia told the BBC.

The foreign minister added that the OSCE is "ready to hold negotiations" following an agreement in Geneva on Friday between Russia, US, EU and Ukraine, calling for the disarming of groups "on both sides" and a peaceful resolution of the months-long conflict.

Russia said it was also open to third-party negotiations.

"The Russian side notes that the questions of resolving the internal political crisis should be decided by Ukrainians themselves in close cooperation with a special monitoring mission" of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe," a statement by the Foreign Ministry in Moscow says.

Russia also called for the disarming of members of the ultranationalist Right Sector group, whose activists are occupying buildings in the capital Kiev.

Meanwhile, Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski has told the Wahington Post that Russia's aim in Ukraine is to stop the ex-Soviet state joining Western trade and defnece organisations, despite Russian claims that it is only concerned with protecting the rights of Russian speakers in the country.

"President Putin wants to prevent Ukraine from becoming a successful European/EU - associated country. To that end, he needs to destabilize Ukraine and to upset its electoral calendar and make it more difficult to carry out economic reforms," Sikorski warned.

"The people who should be most worried by what they have heard from the Kremlin are the countries that have large concentrated Russian minorities. That is Kazakhstan, Belarus and, indeed, Latvia," Sikorski added, calling for a change in mid-set from western leaders that emerged after the fall of communism.

"The first thing we should do is to take stock of where we are in terms of security in Europe and abandon postmodernist illusions that conflict is unthinkable".

Poland offered 'five Ukraine provinces'

Poland's foreign minister told the Wahington Post that the idea of breaking up Ukraine has been in President Putin's mind since at least 2008, adding that Moscow offered Poland western areas of the country which used to be under its control before WWII.

"President Putin made a speech at the Bucharest NATO Summit in 2008, at which he spoke about Ukraine as an artificial country put together from bits of other countries," Sikorski said.

"And yes, we have received a letter from the deputy speaker of the Russian Duma, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, proposing that Poland take five provinces of Ukraine. He sent similar letters to Hungary and Romania, also making territorial proposals to them". (pg)

tags: Ukraine
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