Russia agrees to pact on de-escalating crisis

Secretary of State John Kerry (left) and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, meeting Thursday in Geneva, agreed on measures to ease tensions in Ukraine, but Crimea was not discussed.
Secretary of State John Kerry (left) and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, meeting Thursday in Geneva, agreed on measures to ease tensions in Ukraine, but Crimea was not discussed.

GENEVA - The United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union reached an agreement Thursday that calls for armed pro-Russian bands to give up the government buildings they have seized in eastern Ukraine and outlines other steps to de-escalate the crisis.


RELATED ARTICLES

http://www.arkansas…">Snowden to Putin: Spy, too?http://www.arkansas…">Obama ‘decent,’ Putin says

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described the package of measures as an important first step to avert “a complete and total implosion” in eastern Ukraine and said it could be followed by the negotiation of more far-reaching steps to ease a crisis in which violence seemed to be growing by the day. But the agreement, described in a joint statement, does not specifically require Russia to remove the approximately 40,000 troops it has on Ukraine’s border, as President Barack Obama has demanded.

Nor does it commit Russia to holding direct talks with the interim Ukrainian government, which has been another U.S. demand. The agreement also does not mention the Russian annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula last month.

The agreement on “initial concrete steps to de-escalate tensions and restore security” in Ukraine followed more than six hours of talks in Geneva that involved Kerry; his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov; Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, Andrii Deshchytsia; and Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign-policy chief.

It calls on all sides in Ukraine to refrain from violence or provocative behavior and rejects all forms of intolerance, including anti-Semitism, which Kerry said had emerged as a worry in eastern Ukraine.

“All illegal armed groups must be disarmed,” the statement declares. “All illegally seized building must be returned to legitimate owners; all illegally occupied streets, squares and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be vacated.”

In recent days, the United States and other Western nations have repeatedly accused Russian agents of orchestrating the seizure of government buildings in eastern Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia denied the allegations in a question-and-answer session Thursday on Russian television. But he also said Russia reserved the right to intervene militarily, and he used new language that asserted Russia’s historical claims to parts of eastern Ukraine.

Under the agreement negotiated in Geneva, the Ukrainian government would grant amnesty to protesters who leave the government buildings they have occupied and agree to give up their arms, unless they are suspected of murder or other capital crimes.

Monitors from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, a 57-nation group that includes Russia, are to play a “leading role” in helping Ukrainians carry out the de-escalation measures.

Ukraine, the agreement says, also should ensure that an overhaul of its constitution involves “outreach to all of Ukraine’s regions and political constituencies.” And the statement endorses the importance of economic support to Ukraine.

Kerry said at a news conference that it was vital that the measures be “translated immediately into action” and that he hoped more far-reaching steps could follow.

“None of us leave here with the sense that the job is done,” he added. “We do not envision this as the full measure of de-escalation.”

The measure requiring armed groups to vacate government buildings in eastern Ukraine was singled out by Western officials as an especially significant one, and Kerry made clear that the Obama administration would hold Russia accountable to see that it was carried out.

“The responsibility will lie with those who have organized” the groups, said Kerry, who added that the United States had made clear that Russia had a “huge impact on all of those forces.”

“If there is not progress in these next days, then there will be additional sanctions, additional costs,” Kerry said.

In response to a question, Kerry insisted that the United States had not dropped objections to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, but acknowledged that it had not been the focus of the meeting.

“We did not come here to talk about Crimea,” he said.

While there has been no Russian commitment to withdraw forces from Ukraine’s border on a specific schedule, Kerry said the Russian side had suggested the presence would be reduced as the crisis eased.

Obama conveyed skepticism Thursday about Russia’s promises to de-escalate the situation and said the United States and its allies are ready to impose fresh economic sanctions if Moscow doesn’t make good on its commitments.

“My hope is that we actually do see follow-through over the next several days, but I don’t think, given past performance, that we can count on that,” Obama said at a news conference at the White House after Kerry wrapped up the meeting in Geneva.

Obama did not say what additional sanctions might be in the offing if Russia doesn’t follow through on its promises. U.S. officials have prepared penalties on wealthy Russians in Putin’s inner circle, as well on the entities they run.

“We have no desire to see further deterioration of the Russian economy,” he said. Russia’s Micex Index of equities has fallen 11.6 percent this year.

Obama discussed the developments with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose support for additional sanctions would be crucial given her country’s close economic ties with Russia. In a statement about their discussion, the White House said the two leaders agreed that they were prepared to enact further penalties on Russia if it does not de-escalate the situation “in short order.”

RALLIES IN EASTERN UKRAINE

In Ukraine on Thursday, thousands gathered for peaceful demonstrations in at least four eastern cities to denounce Russia for its perceived meddling in Ukrainian affairs, a day after the most lethal clash so far killed three pro-Russian activists.

Political developments in eastern Ukraine have for weeks been dominated by a small, vocal and armed opposition to the interim government in Kiev. Thursday’s rallies, by contrast, drew crowds who listened to speeches condemning Russia and resisting the pro-Russian movement that is pushing for autonomy for eastern Ukraine.

Rallies were held in Donetsk, Luhansk, Mariupol and Kramatorsk, where key government buildings have been occupied by pro-Russian groups.

Parliamentary deputy Oleh Lyashko, who is running for office in the May 25 presidential election, rejected claims that Russian speakers in the east had been subject to any discrimination. He also said the armed groups active in the seizures of buildings would not prevail.

“Let those who have weapons be afraid of us, we will fight back. Let the ones who want to split up our country be afraid, because we won’t allow them to do it,” Lyashko said.

Hromadske television reported that police in Kramatorsk thwarted an attempt by pro-Russian activists to attack a pro-unity rally of about 500 people.

Overnight Wednesday, three people were killed and 12 injured after a mob of 300 pro-Russian protesters armed with stun grenades and firebombs tried to seize a National Guard base in the Black Sea port city of Mariupol.

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said shots fired by servicemen in the base initially proved insufficient to deter the mob. There were no casualties among Ukrainian servicemen, the ministry said. At least 63 people involved in the attack were detained, but local media cited police as saying 38 were later released.

Meanwhile, Ukraine accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, opening the way for a possible investigation of the violent crackdown by former President Viktor Yanukovych’s government on demonstrators, the court announced Thursday.

Ukraine, which is not a member state of the court, accepted its jurisdiction from Nov. 21, 2013, to Feb. 22, saying attacks by Yanukovych’s forces left more than 100 demonstrators dead in Kiev and other cities, according to documents released by the court.

A statement by Ukraine’s parliament said Ukrainian law enforcement agencies “unlawfully used physical force, special means and weapons toward the participants of peaceful actions” in Kiev and elsewhere “on the orders of senior officials of the state.”

The statement said the attacks killed more than 100 people and injured more than 2,000. It also alleges that Yanukovych’s government abducted, tortured and even killed some dissenters.

Yanukovych fled from Ukraine to Russia in February after months of protests by demonstrators angry at his decision to align his country more closely with Russia than Europe.

Information for this article was contributed by Michael R. Gordon and Nick Cumming-Bruce of The New York Times; by Julie Pace, Peter Leonard, Yuras Karmanau, Mike Corder and Edith M. Lederer of The Associated Press; and by Henry Meyer, Nicole Gaouette and Olga Tanas and staff members of Bloomberg News.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 04/18/2014

Upcoming Events