Ukraine PM to Russia: 'Get out of our land'

CNBC.com As the cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia looks shaky at best, the prime minister of Ukraine told CNBC that Russia was not withdrawing heavy weaponry from the east of the country and needed to end its "illegal invasion." "I have a key aspiration, and this is the aspiration of the entire Ukrainian nation: Russians, get out of our land. But they are still in Ukraine; Russian military and boots are still on Ukrainian ground," Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told CNBC Tuesday. Less than two weeks ago, Russia and Ukraine signed a peace deal, brokered by France and Germany, which was meant to see the withdrawal of heavy weaponry by both sides from the eastern region of Ukraine, where fighting between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukraine military has been concentrated. Speaking of the deal, Yatsenyuk alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "cheated and outplayed" those involved in peace talks, including Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, the leaders of France and Germany who helped broker the deal, "and the entire European Union." Although he said he supported Poroshenko's efforts to try to find a solution, and that peace was needed for Ukraine and for the "free world," he added that Putin presented a "threat to the entire western civilization." Read MorePutin says leaders have agreed on Ukraine ceasefire The conflict, which started last spring, prompted the West to impose economic sanctions on Russia, which is believed to be supporting the rebels despite denying involvement. More than 5,000 people have died in the fighting so far, according to the United Nations. In an effort to show they were honoring the truce, pro-Russia separatists Tuesday invited reporters to witness the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line in east Ukraine, as agreed under the cease-fire deal. But Ukraine accused the rebels of using the cover of withdrawal to reinforce for another advance, Reuters reported. Speaking to CNBC in Kiev, Yatsenyuk said he was wary about Russia's intentions and that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not abiding by the ceasefire deal, known as "Minsk 2" as it was the second attempt to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. Read MoreWhat is Russia's Vladimir Putin playing at? "The Russian president hasn't executed any deal - either 'Minsk one' or 'Minsk two' - and Russian aggression severely affected Ukraine," he said, adding that he was "absolutely sure" the Ukrainians who wanted to join Russia had been affected by "Russian propaganda." "This is not about the aspirations of some Ukrainians who still believe they have stronger links with the Russian Federation. This is Russian propaganda, and Russian illegal annexation and the illegal invasion of Ukraine. And Russia misused these people to legitimize it's invasion and annexation of Crimea," he said. Crimea, in the southern part of Ukraine, was annexed by Russia following a referendum last March, although the vote is disputed by Ukraine which says Russia illegally seized the region. Vadym Prystaiko, deputy foreign minister of Ukraine, told CNBC that Ukraine's 46 million population would like to know "what is in Mr Putin's mind and how far he's going (to go)." "What we know for sure is that he will go and grab as many lands as we will allow him," he told CNBC in Kiev Tuesday. "We don't know whether he wants to stop at some point." He reiterated Ukraine's desire to reintegrate the Crimean region back into wider Ukraine. Ukraine's economy has been hit hard by the ongoing tensions, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $40 billion financial aid deal for the country earlier this month, although it depends on certain reforms being implemented. In terms of military support, the U.S. has said it was considering arming Ukraine, although Europe is wary of such a move. On Tuesday, however, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said British military personnel were to be sent to Ukraine to provide training and advice to the Ukrainian troops. Yatsenyuk said he was confident that, with the help of the West, Ukraine could rid itself of Russian forces. "My primary target is to get peace in my country, to pull back Russian forces, to restore the territorial integrity and the independence of Ukraine. Is it doable? Yes, if we act…with our Western partners," he said. Written by Holly Ellyatt, reported by Steve Sedgwick. Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld

Global Crises Put Obama’s Strategy of Caution to the Test

 

By DAVID E. SANGERMARCH 16, 2014

SECESSION APPROVED Crimeans in Simferopol celebrated a vote on Sunday to break from Ukraine and join Russia. Credit Uriel Sinai for The New York Times

Part of whole article:

WASHINGTON — For five years, President Obama has consciously recast how America engages with the world’s toughest customers. But with Russia poised to annex Crimea after Sunday’s referendum, with a mounting threat to the rest of Ukraine and with the carnage in Syria accelerating, Mr. Obama’s strategy is now under greater stress than at any time in his presidency.

In his first term, the White House described its approach as the “light footprint”: “Dumb wars” of occupation — how Mr. Obama once termed Iraq — were out. Drone strikes, cyberattacks and Special Operations raids that made use of America’s technological superiority were the new, quick-and-dirty expression of military and covert power. When he did agree to have American forces join the bombing of Libya in 2011, Mr. Obama insisted that NATO and Arab states “put skin in the game,” a phrase he vastly prefers to “leading from behind.”

As he learned to play the long game, the Treasury Department became Mr. Obama’s favorite noncombatant command. It refined the art of the economic squeeze on Iran, eventually forcing the mullahs to the negotiating table.

 

Ukraine crisis: fatal clashes as tensions rise before Crimea vote

 

 

Two people killed and five injured in clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian activists before Sunday’s secession referendum

People speak in front of a placard depicting the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, as a dancing ballerina wearing a bulletproof vest with Kalashnikov machine gun. Photograph: Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/Getty Images

In Sochi, President Vladimir Putin met the head of Ukraine’s Paralympic committee, a day before the Games’ closing ceremony and a referendum in the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

Ukrainian Paralympic committee head Valeriy Sushkevich told Reuters after the meeting that it was “profound, long and substantive”, but declined to give further comment.

Earlier on Saturday Sushkevich had said he regarded the Crimean referendum as illegitimate, echoing the position of Ukraine’s interim government and Western countries. “When a referendum is being carried out at gunpoint, when a referendum is accompanied by foreign troops on one’s country’s territory ... what legitimacy are we talking about?” Sushkevich told reporters in the highland Olympics cluster near Sochi.

Sushkevich said ahead of the Games that his team would pull out if violence escalated in the region. On Saturday he said the Ukrainian team was considering whether to snub the closing ceremony, or use it to make a statement in support of peace.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general of Nato has warned Russia and Crimea not to hold a referendum tomorrow in Crimea.

 

Secretary General statement on the so-called referendum in Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea

I continue to follow developments in Ukraine with great concern. The so-called referendum in the Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea planned on 16 March would be a direct violation of the Ukrainian constitution and international law. If held, it would have no legal effect or political legitimacy.

Holding this referendum would undermine international efforts to find a peaceful and political solution to the crisis in Ukraine. It would run counter to the principles of the United Nations Charter. It is vital that those principles be upheld.

Today, these concerns have been discussed at a meeting of all 50 members of the Partnership for Peace in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, at the request of our partner Ukraine. Many partners associated themselves with NATO’s concerns.

The Russian Federation should act responsibly, uphold its obligations under international law and abide by the principles of the NATO-Russia Council and the Partnership for Peace. Dialogue and negotiations should be given a chance to succeed in bringing about a de-escalation of the situation and a political solution.

This is from Stars and Stripes.

Air Force Lt. Col. David Westover, a spokesman, said the U.S. European Command had been in the planning stages for Atlas Vision 2014, which was to take place in July in Chelyabinsk, in northeastern Russia, and focus on joint peace-keeping operations. But because of the crisis, “all planning for this exercise has been suspended,” he said.

However, planning for Rapid Trident 2014 — a large, USAREUR-led multinational exercise scheduled for July — is ongoing, he said.

That exercise, in Lviv, near the Polish border, is to “promote regional stability and security, strengthen partnership capacity, and foster trust while improving interoperability between USAREUR, the land forces of Ukraine, and other (NATO and partner) nations,” according to the USAEUR website.

In addition to USAREUR troops, Rapid Trident 2014 will include units from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom and Ukraine, Westover said. It will feature a combined U.S. and Ukrainian battalion headquarters practicing a peacekeeping operation, he said. “Exercise planning will continue until we are told otherwise.”