I/III. http://rt.com/news/242857-eu-peacekeepers-ukraine-lavrov/
'There are no madmen in EU' to send peacekeepers to Ukraine - Lavrov Published time: March 21, 2015 10:22 The EU would not send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine unless the rebels endorse such a mission, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, commenting on Kiev's request for a foreign 'police force.' "I believe there are no madmen in the EU. [Previously the EU deployed peacekeepers] only in situations in which, as in the Balkans, all sides of a conflict agreed to it. The EU would never go to any region - be it southeastern Ukraine or anywhere else - unless the conflicting sides agree to such a mission," Lavrov said in an interview to Rossiya 1 channel's Sergey Brilev on Saturday. Russia's foreign minister added that Kiev should talk to the self-proclaimed Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republic rather than Moscow to secure their backing for peacekeepers and not ignore them as it is doing at the moment. Read more 'Stick to Minsk deal': Russia slams Ukraine idea for EU peacekeepers Moscow has previously criticized Kiev's unilateral invitation of a police force under the EU aegis for a peacekeeping mission in war-torn eastern Ukraine, saying the move undermined the Minsk ceasefire agreement because it wasn't agreed by the rebel forces. On Monday, President Petro Poroshenko submitted a draft address to the UN Security Council seeking the deployment of an international mission to Ukraine, with the document already having been approved by the Ukrainian Security Council. Warmongers act against peace deal Moscow believes that by trying to have foreign troops deployed in the country, Ukraine is acting against the Minsk-2 deal agreed in February. "I believe it's a distraction... Poroshenko is pressured by those who don't want any peaceful settlement, which would also whitewash their guilt in the conflict," Lavrov suggested. "After the Ukrainian parliament adopted legislation on local elections that directly contradicts the terms of the Minsk agreement, they came up with this new trick, the peacekeepers initiative. It all sounds noble and fine, but those familiar with the situation see it for what it actually is." Proponents of a military solution can be found both in Kiev and Washington, Lavrov said. The two capitals practically speak in one voice when it comes to the Minsk agreement. "As far as we know, the Americans give lip service to the Minsk agreement... but put much effort into interpreting the agreed documents and their position is then voiced verbatim by Kiev," he said. "[US] Vice President Joe Biden called Ukrainian President Poroshenko to congratulate him on the signing the documents [on local elections], which Donetsk and Lugansk took as putting an end to the February 12 agreement," Lavrov added. "Biden also confirmed in the same phone conversation that the US is sending equipment and instructors to train the [Ukrainian] National Guard." More pressure on Kiev needed The top Russian diplomat confirmed that Moscow has called on Germany and France, which co-sponsored the Minsk agreement, to take action regarding Kiev's non-compliance with the peace deal. "We call for self-evident things: for action to be taken to make the Ukrainian authorities carry out obligations that have been backed by Petro Poroshenko as the president of Ukraine," Lavrov said. Read more 'Glaring breach': Minsk 'violation' sees Russia urge France, Germany to act on Ukraine In his interview, the foreign minister also gave a reminder that the EU has recently acknowledged the Ukrainian crisis is a European problem, and no "overseas" interests should be involved in its settlement. In his speech to the European Council on Thursday, the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said the EU "has worked towards a peaceful solution of this conflict in our immediate neighborhood," and called a political resolution to the crisis "the only viable solution." "The [whole] Minsk process is based on a philosophy, recently voiced by the European parliament head Martin Schulz, who said that the crisis in Ukraine is not a Russian-American problem, but a European one, and should be treated that way... the EU wants to deal with problems at its borders in keeping with its own interests, rather than someone's across the ocean," Lavrov said. UN peacekeeping soldiers patrolling part of the border between Macedonia and Yugoslavia on August 20, 1993 (Reuters)UN peacekeeping soldiers patrolling part of the border between Macedonia and Yugoslavia on August 20, 1993 (Reuters) The Russian minister added that Kiev's foreign backers must put more pressure on the Ukrainian government to stick to the peace deal "I feel sad that tantrums and Kiev's unwillingness to compromise is just blocking the implementation of the agreement, which we all saw as good and implementable," he said. "The problem is that Americans and to a lesser degree Europeans feel uncomfortable when they have to criticize Kiev. They avoid it whenever they can. They endorsed the new Ukrainian government, turned a blind eye to many of their actions, but it didn't help." OSCE mission improving, Russia offers assistance Lavrov also blamed Kiev for trying to sideline the mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which has been tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Minsk ceasefire, by falsely claiming that it is not up to its task. "The mission has significantly improved the quality of its reports, they've become more regular. We insist that the reports were delivered on daily basis and they were distributed straight away to all OSCE member countries, rather than being sent to Vienna to be edited and 'dressed'," Lavrov said. The OSCE mission's initial 500 staff positions are almost filled, and Russia successfully advocated for the ceiling to be doubled, Lavrov said. The OSCE already has high-tech equipment necessary for the task, including drones provided by Austria. Moscow is also ready to provide more technical assistance to the mission, including more drones and armored vehicles, although this would probably require settling formalities to have military personnel like drone operators attached to the civilian OSCE mission, he added. The minister went on to say that apparently Kiev is not happy with OSCE reporting because it shows the Ukrainian military in an unfavorable light. "The facts reported to OSCE members bear out that roughly 80 percent of incidents, such as failures to pull back troops or give observers access to areas they want to visit, are due to the actions of the Ukrainian military," Lavrov said. II/III. http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-russians-arms-against-putin-093925823.html In Ukraine, some Russians take up arms against Putin AFP By Maria Antonova 2 hours ago Odessa (Ukraine) (AFP) - When Andrei Krasilnikov hugged his wife good-bye last week and climbed onto a bus to take him back to the frontline in eastern Ukraine, his motive was typical of those fighting for Kiev -- to defend his family and future from what he perceives as Russian aggression. What sets him apart from his brothers-in-arms is his Russian citizenship. Krasilnikov, 48, is one of several Russians fighting as a volunteer against the pro-Moscow insurgency in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Like many Ukrainians he views the conflict as "a war by Russia against Ukraine" rather than a home-grown uprising. "The thing is, we are not fighting against Russians but against (President Vladimir) Putin's army," he said. "Not everyone in Russia supports Putin and his regime... a regime that is militarised, a police regime that can do whatever it wants with its own people." Though he has lived in Ukraine's southern Russian-speaking city of Odessa for a decade and has a Ukrainian wife and son, the Moscow-born Krasilnikov still holds a Russian passport. His friends in the pro-Kiev Aydar battalion view that "completely normally," he said, recounting taking heavy artillery fire with them in the Lugansk region in February, shortly before the latest ceasefire came into effect. View galleryFighters of the Aydar, a Ukrainian volunteer battalion, … Fighters of the Aydar, a Ukrainian volunteer battalion, hang images of killed comrades and friends o ... "They shook my hand and said that I was a true Russian who understands everything." Back in the land of his birth, however, he had to break off ties with friends who started calling him a "fascist" after he took part in protests last year that ousted the Kremlin-backed leader Viktor Yanukovych. "They got it in their heads that Ukraine has a fascist regime and a junta," Krasilnikov said, using the terms employed by Russian state media to describe the country's new pro-Western government. - Fear of deportation - Despite risking his life for Ukraine, the irony for Krasilnikov and other Russians opposing Putin here is that they still face suspicion from Kiev even though going back home may mean time in a Russian jail. View galleryUkrainian special troops stand guard in the southern … Ukrainian special troops stand guard in the southern city of Odessa during an anti-terrorists operat ... Krasilnikov has had an application to renew his residency permit rejected by suspicious authorities and he says one reason for staying at the frontline is that immigration officials won't go looking for him there. "I cannot go outside Ukraine to Russia because I am more than sure that I will get arrested there," he said in an interview in Odessa a few hours before heading to the front. The sense of limbo was echoed by other Russians interviewed by AFP. Despite opposing Putin, they said that they are often likely to be stonewalled by authorities in Ukraine, especially low-level officials who are often pro-Moscow. Pyotr Lyubchenkov, an opposition activist from Russia's Krasnodar, had his request for political asylum last year denied in Odessa. View galleryMen push a cart over the destroyed Putilovka bridge … Men push a cart over the destroyed Putilovka bridge near Donetsk airport on March 21, 2015. (AFP Pho ... The file that the immigration services had on him "even used descriptions from pro-Kremlin websites," he told AFP. Lyubchenkov, a 40-year-old psychologist, opposed the annexation of Crimea last year and is wanted in Russia after trying to organise an opposition rally. He is the subject of a probe that has already seen two people arrested. "I hope I don't get deported," he said. "It was a simple idea, coming here," Lyubchenkov said, describing how he had expected his support for Kiev's pro-Western ideas would meet a sympathetic ear. He joined up with pro-Western protesters in Odessa and helps the local group opposing separatist activity in the Russian-speaking city. These days he is even putting together free Ukrainian language lessons in a local library. But despite his expectations, "the reality turned out very different," he lamented: even Russians who support Ukraine's cause -- in battle or not -- are sidelined by its rank and file bureaucracy. - 'I fight for my land' - One of the few exceptions is Ilya Bogdanov, a far-right Russian nationalist who has been fighting in pro-Kiev battalions since last summer. "I am fighting against Putin's regime, for a free, white Ukraine that is pro-European," he said by phone from the village of Pisky near the Donetsk airport -- one area which continues to take fire despite the month-old truce. The fighter in the extreme Ukrainian nationalist Right Sector group chronicles the conflict on his Facebook page and regularly gets into arguments with Russians fighting on the opposite side on social media. "It's a lot of Russians, practically only Russians" fighting on the separatist side, he said, having made a complete break from his past in Russia's far-eastern city of Vladivostok, including his pro-Putin mother. A month ago, he received Ukrainian citizenship -- after a lengthy process that was resolved only through the personal intervention of Ukraine's top leadership. "It was extremely difficult, at every level they tried to block it," he said. "I am citizen of Ukraine now, I fight for my land," he says with a laugh. "Everything I have is right here." III. http://news.yahoo.com/artillery-fire-breaks-east-ukraine-084558661.html Artillery rocks Ukraine rebel bastion Donetsk despite truce AFP By Béatrice Le Bohec 12 hours ago Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) - Artillery fire rocked the outskirts of the rebel-held east Ukraine city of Donetsk on Sunday in the latest clashes to rattle an internationally-brokered ceasefire between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev. The sound of intensive explosions erupted at 9:00 am (0600 GMT) and appeared to come from the area around Donetsk airport, one of several flashpoints where shelling has rumbled on despite the February truce deal that has eased fighting around much of eastern Ukraine. The Ukranian army said rebels located near the airport had used small arms, 82mm mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades against government troops overnight. It said there had been three injuries in its ranks but no deaths. In the separatist stronghold of Lugansk, the army also came under fire from small arms and heavier 120mm mortar shells, according to an official statement. The overall rate of fighting has declined sharply since the peace deal, which obliges both sides to stop shooting and withdraw heavy weapons, was hammered out by the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine. View galleryA man fixes a wooden cross in memory of fallen pro-Russian … A man fixes a wooden cross in memory of fallen pro-Russian separatist soldiers near Donetsk airport ... However, sporadic clashes with small arms and shells have continued on a near daily basis at hotspots including the airport and around the key government-held port city of Mariupol. According to the army, militants fired 120mm mortar shells overnight at the village of Shyrokyne, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Mariupol. Many fear that the steel-making hub -- the largest major city held by the government in the conflict zone -- could become the focus of a new offensive, opening up a corridor between rebel-held territory and Russian-annexed Crimea. - 'All its force' - There were also nine sightings of rebel drones over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters Sunday. View galleryMen push a cart over the destroyed Putilovka bridge … Men push a cart over the destroyed Putilovka bridge near Donetsk airport on March 21, 2015. (AFP Pho ... He also accused separatists of twice using artillery prohibited by the peace deal near the village of Avdiivka, north of Donetsk. Under the terms of the ceasefire, the two sides agreed to pull back their heavy arms to create a buffer zone of between 50 kilometres and 140 kilometres (31 miles and 87 miles), depending on the range of the weaponry. The warring parties both claim to have withdrawn their big guns but the Ukrainian military on Friday accused separatists near Shyrokyne of using the heavy Grad multiple rocket system for "the first time in a month". The supposed drawback is being monitored by the OSCE, but the international observer mission on Thursday said it had been unable to verify a credible withdrawal "because of a lack of cooperation on both sides". Moscow on Saturday claimed that Kiev might be "bluffing" over it weapons withdrawal. View galleryA damaged building sits boarded up in an area held … A damaged building sits boarded up in an area held by soldiers of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People ... Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, however, insisted late Saturday that Kiev was adhering to the peace deal. "Ukraine strictly and consistently implements these steps," he told Ukraine channel Inter TV. "Firstly, we ceased fire, secondly, we withdrew heavy equipment and artillery, thirdly, we ensured active work of OSCE monitors, who are able to check the implementation of these agreements". However, Poroshenko warned he would respond with force in the event of any new large-scale attack. "We are not daydreamers and we are doing everything so that if, God forbid, there is an offensive against Ukraine, we can repel the enemy with all our force and defeat it." -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
