Talk of war 24 hours after 'space agreement'

24 hours after a 'peace agreement' and we are back to talking about war. There is a horrible inevitability about it.

EU ready for 'necessary steps' if Ukraine pact breached: Tusk

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Ukrainian

Yahoo,

12 February, 2015

Brussels (AFP) - The EU warned Russia Thursday it was ready to take further measures in addition to the sanctions it has already imposed if a new Ukraine peace pact is breached, the bloc's president Donald Tusk said.

"The debate focused on how to support the implementation of the agreement -- if it does not happen we will not hesitate to take the necessary steps," the European Council chief told a press conference after a European Union summit.

The summit focused on the truce deal signed earlier Thursday in the Belarus capital Minsk after marathon talks between the presidents of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France aimed at ending a 10-month conflict between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists.

Tusk said the EU would go ahead anyway with new sanctions against 19 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and nine entities next week, despite having agreed on Monday to suspend implementation for a week to boost the chances of success of the Minsk talks.

"Our trust in the goodwill of President Putin is limited, this is why we have to maintain our decision on sanctions," he said.

Brussels first imposed targeted sanctions on individuals after Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 but adopted tougher economic measures after the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in July.

But Tusk said the leaders had not discussed any further sanctions against Russia.

He said Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had given EU leaders a "sobering assessment" of the deal and the "terrible situation in his country as a result of Russian aggression."

Poroshenko earlier warned that it would be hard to make a success of the deal between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists.

"It was very difficult negotiation and we expect not easy implementation process," Poroshenko said in Brussels.

From Frankfurter Allgemeine

EU macht ernst mit Russland-Sanktionen

Trotz der Vereinbarung von Minsk treten am Montag weitere Sanktionen gegen Russland in Kraft. Die EU deutete an, dass noch mehr folgen könnten. Im Kampf gegen den Terrorismus üben die Mitgliedsstaaten den Schulterschluss

EU is serious about Russia sanctions

Despite the agreement of Minsk occur on Monday for sanctions against Russia in force. The EU suggested that more could follow. In the fight against terrorism, 

And le Monde

Prudence of Western leaders 

about the chances of peace in  

Ukraine

Prudence des dirigeants occidentaux sur les chances de paix en Ukraine.

le Monde,
12 February, 2015

It was with relief tinged with caution as the leaders of the European Union welcomed, Thursday 12 February, the compromise in the night in Minsk to try to put an end to the conflict in the east of Ukraine . At the initiative of the negotiations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande , warned his peers at the European Council in Brussels that nothing was gained.

"We are in a time that is crucial, agreement has been reached, it is more than a glimmer of hope and, at the same time, a time when everything can still decide one way or another and next few hours will be decisive. »

M me Merkel, who negotiated all night in the Belarusian capital alongside the leaders of the French state, Russian and Ukrainian, proved equally tempered: "It's a glimmer of hope, not less, not more. " For the latter, the key is "that words are followed by actions" .

The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk Polish, has, meanwhile, wanted pragmatic. "Hope is good, but hope is not enough, the real test is the cease -the fire on the ground " , he assured, recalling that the first truce, concluded on September 5, had been breached. The agreement signed Thursday includes the cessation of fighting, 15 February.

For his part, British Prime Minister David Cameron praised the efforts of French and German diplomats, while expressing doubts about the real chances for peace. "Vladimir Putin must know that if he does not change his behavior, sanctions we have implemented will not change " , argued the curator. Many Western leaders have also used the threat of new procedures in the event of non-compliance with this new agreement. However, if it was observed, the EU was prepared to relax the measures taken against Moscow.

Paris has speculated the resumption of the suspended delivery of Mistral warships. "The conditions are still not met. They will be, I hope someday " , told Francois Hollande after the European summit.

"THE ROAD IS LONG"

The other side of the Atlantic, the reaction is similar. The United States therefore also welcomed the signing of the cease-fire, but still measured on the chances of achieving . "The road is long before all parties are able to make peace and restore full sovereignty Ukraine " , has warned the head of the diplomacy American, John Kerry. "What will count now are the actions to be undertaken. »

"It is not simply to make peace with one hand and pass the other hand more surface to air missiles" , criticized, for its part, The US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power on MSNBC. Finally, the White House has called for the "withdrawal of heavy weapons from the zone of conflict" and asked "the Russia to end its support for separatists and withdraw its troops and military equipment in the eastern Ukraine " .

As the European Union, Washington, which imposed sanctions against Moscow, said that these could be lifted if lasting peace in the region. "The United States is prepared to consider to go back on sanctions against Russia when the cease-fire in Minsk in September 2014 and this agreement will be fully implemented " , reiterated Mr. Kerry. Otherwise, "if the transfers of weapons and equipment continue (...) it will be a violation of the spirit and letter of the agreement and it will force us, with our partners, to impose a higher price " , warned a US official

the states will exercise the shoulder to shoulder