Ukraine update - 03/17/2014

Lavrov: Russia, US, EU, Ukraine agree on de-escalation roadmap

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holds a press conference following a Geneva meeting of top diplomats from the EU, Russia, Ukraine and the United States, who held talks on the recent crisis in Ukraine.

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/nvzlcj

"Ukraine deal"? Maybe. But the insanity sure continues...

http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.ru/2014/04/ukraine-deal-maybe-but-instanity-sure.html

I am trying to make sense of what is going on. But so far, this looks like more of the total, absolute terminally insane chaos which we saw in the first 2 days of the Ukrainian civil war. See for yourself:

First a deal between the the USA and Russia (-: well, officially they seriously refer to it as the Ukraine, EU, US, Russia agreement :-) is announced. Specifically, the deal is on "de-escalation".

So far, so good.

Then, in a BBC post, I read this pearl:

Mr Kerry said the extent of the crisis had been highlighted in recent days by the "grotesque" sending of notices to Jews in eastern Ukraine, demanding that they register themselves as Jewish.

Again, even though this is an obscene, literally polar, 180 degree, misrepresentation of the target, it is also interesting. The fact that the Ukies were killing each other is irrelevant, think of it like a few dead bugs on your windshield, but if GOD FORBID there might be ANY sign of Jews being not killed, not tortured, not beat up by bats or lynched by a mob, but just forced to register as such, they TOTAL PANIC must ensue, this is clearly a PLANETARY EMERGENCY REQUIERING AN IMMEDIATE WORLDWIDE MOBILIZATION!!!! (yes, this must be written all in caps, if not - you are an anti-Semite). So Kerry just had to act and by its action, no doubt, the USA will prevent another "Holocaust of 6 million Jews" (here the quotation marks are essential because Hitler's mass murder must *only* be referred to as "Holocaust" and absolutely must include the absolutely obligatory figure of 6 millon, if not - you are an anti-Semite).

And, of course, the fact that the only Nazis in the Ukraine are those of the US and EU supported illegal regime makes no difference at all. After all, they really don't care one bit about the life or well-being of any Jew (or Anglo for that matter) at all. For the US any murdered or mistreated Jew is nothing more than a pretext for intervention, a good thing, really (at least in their sick minds).

To cap it all off, I then saw this:

Kiev: Military operation in Ukraine southeast to go on despite Geneva agreement

Despite calls for a peaceful dialogue in the document on Ukraine adopted in Geneva, the coup-imposed Ukrainian Foreign Minister said it will not affect the “anti-terrorist” operation in the East of the country and the troops will remain there. Soon after the Geneva document, adopted at a four-side meeting between Ukraine, the US, the EU and Russia, was published, Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andrey Deshchytsa said Kiev is not bound by its recommendations. According to Deshchytsa cited by RIA Novosti, “the troops in the East of the country are carrying out a special operation and can remain where they are.”

So much for de-escalation I suppose.

I suppose that as long as these anti-terrorist forces continue murdering Russian-speaking civilians and refrain from listing Jews, that is kosher from the USA's point of view.

So you will forgive me if I am overtaken by a powerful wave of positive emotions at the news that some kind of deal was struck.

Give me a couple of hours to find out what the hell is really going on and I will come back to you with hopefully a halfway decent SITREP (-: caps not mandatory here, but that is the convention :-)

Cheers,

The Saker

See this from about a month ago

Relax, Ukraine is NOT Ordering Its Jews to Register

New Republic

17 April, 2014

Today, the Western press caught up with the Ukrainian rumor mill: apparently, the People's Republic of Donetsk had ordered all Jews over the age of 16 to pay a fee of $50 U.S. and register with the new "authorities," or face loss of citizenship or expulsion. This was laid out in officious-looking fliers pasted on the local synagogue. One local snapped a photo of the fliers and sent it to a friend in Israel, who then took it to the Israeli press and, voila, an international scandal: American Twitter is abuzz with it, Drudge is hawking it, and, today in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerryslammed the fliers as "grotesque." 

The Donetsk Jewish community dismissed this as "a provocation," which it clearly is. "It's an obvious provocation designed to get this exact response, going all the way up to Kerry," says Fyodr Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs. "I have no doubt that there is a sizeable community of anti-Semites on both sides of the barricades, but for one of them to do something this stupid—this is done to compromise the pro-Russian groups in the east." 

Why? The Russian government has been playing up the (real but small) role of fascists and neo-Nazis in the victory of the EuroMaidan in Kiev. The Ukrainian government, utterly powerless to fight off the Russians and their local stooges, have had to rely on other methods, like leaking taped phone calls of allegedly local separatists getting their commands from Moscow. This may be just another tactic to smear the so-called anti-Maidan in the east of Ukraine: you think we're fascists? Well, take a look at these guys.

Indeed, the Russian web chatter has sniffed the hand of the Dnipropetrovsk city government. (Dnipropetrovsk is another eastern Ukrainian city, but one that has been spared this chaos, in part because of the firm hand of its new regional governor, Jewish businessman Ihor Kolomoisky. One (Jewish) blogger said he received a similar looking flier from an official in the Dnipropetrovsk city administration.

On the other hand, says Vladimir Fedorin, an independent Russian journalist working in Ukraine, we shouldn't totally dismiss these fliers. "I think the fliers are fake, but the anti-Maidan crowd is a collection of the hardcore 'alternative' variety and criminals, so it's possible some of them are capable of this." To wit, there were also reports of teenagers distributing these fliers. 

So, in conclusion: the Jews of Donetsk and eastern Ukraine may have been asked by a leaflet to register, but it has not been enforced nor are any Ukrainian Jews registering themselves. If that changes, I'll be all over it, but so far, you can breathe easy. No Holocaust 2.0 just yet

Kiev: Military operation in Ukraine southeast to go on despite Geneva agreement

RT,

17 April, 2014

Despite calls for a peaceful dialogue in the document on Ukraine adopted in Geneva, the coup-imposed Ukrainian Foreign Minister said it will not affect the “anti-terrorist” operation in the East of the country and the troops will remain there.

Soon after the Geneva document, adopted at a four-side meeting between Ukraine, the US, the EU and Russia, was published, Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andrey Deshchytsa said Kiev is not bound by its recommendations.

According to Deshchytsa cited by RIA Novosti, “the troops in the East of the country are carrying out a special operation and can remain where they are.”

This comes despite the statement issued by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry following the meeting, which says:

“All sides have pledged to refrain from any form of violence, intimidation or provocative actions. The participants of the meeting strongly condemned and rejected all forms of extremism, racism and religious intolerance, including manifestations of anti-Semitism.”

Deshchytsa said the Ukrainian side has agreed on “joint efforts” with Russia “to start the process of de-escalation in eastern Ukraine.”

Speaking after the four-side meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry also gave an assurance that the Ukrainian authorities are ready to ensure “inclusive and transparent” constitutional reform. All regions of Ukraine will be included in the work towards this reform, he said.

Ukraine will take de-escalation measures in the coming days, Kerry claimed, adding that Washington will “watch that very closely.”

“All of this, we are convinced, represents a good day’s work, but on the other hand, this day’s work has produced principles, and it has produced commitments and it has produced words on paper. And we are the first to understand and agree that words on paper will only mean what the actions taken as a result of those words produce,” Kerry said.

The top US diplomat again threatened Russia with “additional sanctions, additional costs as a consequence,” if there is no progress in eastern Ukraine. At the same time, he hinted some sanctions may be lifted if the de-escalation process goes well.

All sides of the conflict in Ukraine must refrain from violence and provocations, Kerry stressed. International meetings on Ukraine should continue, he said.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has assessed the talks as “frank but constructive discussions,” saying that “it was extremely important to bring us all together here to have that process of dialogue begin.” 

“We absolutely welcomed the Ukrainian commitment to conduct an inclusive and transparent constitutional process,” Ashton said. 



The EU diplomat stressed that measures to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine should be taken “immediately,” with the leading role given to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, which will “assist the Ukrainian authorities and local communities to take the necessary measures that they need to take.” 

Ashton said the EU will “continue to support efforts to stabilize the situation in Ukraine economically, financially and politically.” 



“Today President Barroso of the European Commission wrote to President Putin on behalf of the European Union, accepting President Putin’s proposal for consultations with Russia and Ukraine, trilateral consultations, on the security of gas supply and transit,” she added.

Ukraine crisis: Geneva talks produce agreement on defusing conflict

US, Russia, Ukraine and EU agree measures including end of violence, disarming of illegal groups and amnesty for protesters

the Guardian,

17 April, 2014

The US, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union have reached agreement on a series of immediate steps aimed at pulling eastern Ukraine back from the brink of war.

The deal, clinched after a dramatic extended meeting in Geneva, calls for the disarming of all illegal groups. In the next few days they would have to vacate all the government buildings and public spaces they have occupied over the course of the crisis.

In return, the protesters in eastern Ukraine would be offered amnesty for all but capital crimes and the government in Kiev would immediately start a process of public consultation aimed at devolving constitutional powers to the provinces.

Barack Obama cautiously welcomed the agreement, describing it as a "glimmer of hope". But he insisted that Russia still needed to see through its commitment to calming tensions in Ukraine. "We're not going to count on it until we see it," he said.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will be given the job not only of making sure the agreement will be put into practice but of helping to implement it. The US, Russia and European countries would provide monitors to beef up the OSCE's manpower, which would be given access across Ukraine.

Speaking after the deal was agreed, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, made it clear that the US would hold Russia accountable for the compliance of the pro-Russian protesters in eastern Ukraine.

"Responsibility will lie with those who have organised their presence, provided them with the weapons, put the uniforms on them, supported them, and have been engaged in the process of guiding them over the course of this operation," Kerry said, adding that the US had "made very clear that Russia has a huge impact on all those forces. And we have made clear what the evidence is."

A planned escalation of US sanctions on Russia would be suspended pending Russian compliance "over the weekend".

Obama said it would be "several days" before the agreement could be judged.

"I don't think we can be sure of anything at this point," he said. "There is the possibility that diplomacy may de-escalate the situation, and we may be able to move towards what has always been our goal, which is to let the Ukrainians make their own decision about their own lives."

The Geneva meeting, which brought together Kerry, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Deshchytsia and the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, began with low expectations as clashes across eastern Ukraine between government forces and armed protesters were escalating.

At least one demonstrator was killed when pro-Russian protesters tried to storm a military base in the town of Mariupol. It was expected that the talks would only last a couple of hours, and a room was prepared for Lavrov to talk to the press at midday, raising concerns he might walk out of the negotiations.

In the end, however, intense talks went on for seven hours, leading to the agreement, intended "to de-escalate tensions and restore security for all citizens".

The deal has five main points:

• All sides refrain from violence, and reject expressions "of extremism, racism and religious intolerance, including antisemitism".

• All illegal armed groups must be disarmed; all illegally seized buildings must be returned; all illegally occupied streets and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be vacated.

• Amnesty will be granted to protesters and to those who have left buildings and other public places and surrendered weapons, with the exception of those found guilty of capital crimes.

• The OSCE would play a leading role in helping the authorities implement the agreement.

• Constitutional reform would be inclusive, transparent and accountable.

The agreement does not address the build-up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, nor the beefing up of the Nato presence on Russia's western border, announced on Wednesday by the alliance's secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Kerry said that Russia had withdrawn one battalion from the border region and had made clear it would make further, bigger withdrawals as the Geneva agreement was implemented.

Kerry drew special attention to reports that antisemitic leaflets had been handed out to Jews in Donetsk, calling on them to register with the separatist authorities. The separatists denied responsibility.

Without specifically assigning blame, Kerry said: "In the year 2014, after all the violence and the journey of history, this is not just intolerable, it's grotesque. It's beyond unacceptable. Whoever is involved in these activities, wherever they crawled out of, there is no place for that."

Speaking at the White House after a call with German chancellor Angela Merkel, and prior to a scheduled call with British prime minister David Cameron, Obama said that foreign ministers in Geneva had acknowledged the efforts by the interim government in Ukraine to reassure pro-Russians in the east and south of the country.

The statement agreed to by all four parties in Geneva was "promising", Obama said. "The Russians signed on to that statement. The question now becomes: will in fact they use the influence that they exerted in a disruptive way to restore some order?"

The president said the US and EU had prepared additional sanctions to impose against Russia if it does not change course, adding that, while the US does not want to hurt ordinary Russians, "it could get significantly worse".

"My hope is that we actually do see follow through [from Russia] over the next several days," he said. "But I don't think, given past performance, that we count on that. And we have to be prepared to potentially respond to what continue to be efforts of interference by the Russians in eastern and southern Ukraine."

In Ukraine, tensions continued to rise in the east between residents supporting and opposing the new Kiev government. Protesters gathered outside police headquarters in Stakhanov to demand the local police chief's resignation. They attempted to storm the building, but were reportedly repelled by residents who formed a human shield in front of the station.

On Thursday, hundreds gathered in Donetsk to demonstrate for Ukrainian territorial integrity. The rally ended peacefully, unlike similar demonstrations in previous weeks where pro-Russian protesters beat participants. Student Dima Balakai said he was there to oppose the Russian-backed "bandits" occupying the regional administration building.

"There are no violations against the Russian language here," he said, referring to pro-Russian protesters' tendency to blame Kiev for oppressing Russian speakers. "If I speak Ukrainian at the institute, they could soon kick me out."

He said he was beaten by a crowd of young men at a similar rally on 4 March.

Activists from the "people's republic" occupying the administration building went to Donetsk airport to demand negotiations with officials. They told the Guardian they wanted to prevent any military flights from landing, as well as ensure that Russian citizens could arrive freely. The Russian airline Aeroflot said the Ukrainian border service had placed an entry ban on Russian men aged 16 to 60. The Russian foreign ministry said it had requested more information from its Ukrainian counterpart, but journalists at Kiev's Borispol airport reported seeing Russian male passengers turned back.

Donetsk activists said such an entry ban has already been in place de facto in eastern Ukraine. Dima Prokopshuk said two friends from Russia whom he had invited to his recent wedding were turned back at the Ukrainian border three times even though they tried to enter from Crimea, Belgorod and Rostov-on-Don.

Putin gave a long Q &A yesterday on Russian TV

More "De-escalation" - NATO Sends Five Warships To Baltic Sea

The latest development out of NATO, which was already largely expected, must be part of the just announced elaborate de-escalation scheme.  

From VOA:

NATO members are sending navy ships to the Baltic Sea to increase the security of the alliance's eastern European allies in response to the Ukraine crisis.

NATO's Maritime Command said Thursday it is sending four minesweepers and a support vessel to the Baltic Sea. The ships are from Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and Estonia.

The alliance said Thursday it does not intend to escalate the situation in Ukraine, but rather to "demonstrate solidarity" and ramp up NATO's readiness.

NATO has made clear it does not want to get involved militarily in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.

Ah yes, because the Geneva "de-escalation" statement explicitly did not mention anything about a military build up when it is solely for "solidarity demonstration" purposes, and not for "intimidation or provocation." At least we now know what loopholey, umbrella phrase the next Russian escalation in east Ukraine will be held under: "demonstrating solidarity" with ethnic Russians in the region.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-04-17/more-de-escalation-nato-sends-five-warhips-baltic-sea

Russian men between 16 and 60 are not allowed to enter Ukraine

Russians are not allowed to celebrate Easter in Ukraine

Today Ukrainian border guards were not allowed into the country immediately 45 Russian citizens heading to Ukraine to visit relatives for the Passover. All of them were forced to return to the train station of Belgorod.

RT (Russian),

17 April, 2014

The first time in post-Soviet history Ukrainian border guards were not allowed into the country immediately today 45 Russian citizens, including - women with children, according to ITAR-TASS. Russians went to Ukraine to meet with the relatives of one of the major Christian holidays - Easter. This year, the great religious festival falls on April 20.

According to the agency head of the press service of the FSB Border Directorate of Belgorod and Voronezh regions Dmitry Zhukov, "people came out of the train in which they are planted in the Ukraine border guards, with puzzled faces. Young mother trying to calm their children, who because of their age were incomprehensible "adult games".

According to one of the victims, inspection was carried out selectively, as a pretext for refusing to enter Ukraine was clearly invented - "no purpose of stay in the country."

Railways employees in Belgorod assisted returning passengers to purchase tickets for Russian trains and sent them home. Earlier, the Ukrainian authorities have dispatched a number of airlines notification of the ban on entry into the country for a number of Russian citizens. The list includes all men aged 16 to 60, residents of the Crimea and women from 20 to 35 years. In the State Border Service of Ukraine confirmed the notification.

"From today, we have significantly limited the admission in Ukraine adult male Russians - Interfax news agency reported the press service of border services. - In connection with information about possible provocations on the border and terrorist acts, immigration officials temporarily increased control over citizens who enter the country from the Russian Federation. "

Currently, between Ukraine and Russia, there is visa-free regime. Citizens of both countries can undertake travel not only overseas, but also on internal passports. Russia had planned to introduce a mandatory entry on foreign passports to citizens of countries with visa-free regime with Russia, since 2015.

Obama: We are preparing additional sanctions against Russia

United States President Barack Obama said Thursday afternoon that his administration is prepared to take further action against Russia if an agreement reached earlier in the day in Geneva concerning the crisis in Ukraine fails to materialize.

RT,

17 April 2014

Hours earlier, US Secretary of State said from Switzerland that American representatives had just met with officials from the European Union, Russia and Ukraine, and all parties agreed to work diplomatically with one another during the next few days to destabilize the conflict between the Moscow- and Kiev-based governments as tensions continue to worsen in the region.

Speaking from the White House that same afternoon, however, Pres. Obama expressed uncertainty over the Geneva agreement and said his administration will further sanction Russia if they don’t uphold their end of the bargain and “we don’t see actual improvement” as promised.

“I don’t think we can be sure of anything at this point,” Obama told reporters with regards to what will come next of the crisis. “I think there is a possibility — a prospect — that diplomacy may deescalate the situation.”

Speaking of the newly-reached agreement, Pres. Obama said “There was a promising public statement that indicated the need to disarm all irregular forces and militias and groups that have been occupying buildings” in eastern and southern Ukraine.

“The Russians signed on to that statement, and the question now becomes, will in fact they use the influence that they exerted in a disruptive way to restore some order so that Ukrainians can carry out an election [and] move forward with the destabilization,” he asked, “…and start getting back on the path to growth and democracy.”

Pres. Obama also said that he plans to speak later in the day with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss possible sanctions to be waged against Russia if it fails to adhere to the agreements of the Geneva deal reached earlier that day, but reaffirmed that the US has taken the option of military force off of the table.

“We have to be prepared to potentially respond to what would continue to be efforts of interference from the Russians in eastern and southern Ukraine,” Obama said.

In the meantime, though, the president said he urges Russia to help “create an environment in which irregular forces disarm, that the seizing of buildings cease [and] that a national dialogue by Ukrainians — not by Russians, not by Americans or anyone else by Ukrainians — takes place.”

“My understanding is that the Ukrainian prime minister gave a detailed and thorough presentation about the reform they intend to introduce, including reforms that provide assurances for Ukrainians who live in eastern and southern Ukraine — that they will be fully represented, that their rights will be protected, that Russian speakers and Russian natives in Ukraine will have full protection of the law,” the president said..

The most important agreement reached during the talks, according to Russian Prime Minister Lavrov, states that the Ukrainian crisis “must be resolved by the Ukrainians themselves concerning an end to the conflict” including those related to “detaining protesters, occupying buildings” and, in the long run “the start of true constitutional reform.”

“Among the steps that have to be taken are: the disarmament of all the illegal armed groups, and the return of all the occupied administrative buildings,” Lavrov told journalists after Thursday’s briefing.

According to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Deshchytsa said Thursday that Kiev is not bound by the recommendations reached during the Geneva deal, and added that “the troops in the East of the country are carrying out a special operation and can remain where they are.”

Sec. Kerry, meanwhile, said that thousands of Russian troops remained posted on the country’s border with Ukraine, though some have been withdrawn “in response to the efforts we’ve made to insist on some movement.”

Russia, Kerry said, “made it clear that over a period of time, assuming this can de-escalate, and it does de-escalate, as the rights of the people they are concerned about are represented, as the constitutional process unfolds and the future government of Ukraine takes place, they are absolutely prepared to begin to respond with respect to [withdrawing] troops in larger numbers.”

Both Obama and Kerry said they hope for the de-escalation efforts to become evident by early next week at the latest.