Putin calls for urgent talks on 'statehood' for east Ukraine as Europe and America prepare new sanctions against Russia (and some Ukrainians don't seem to be his fans)
The leader of the Kremlin said immediate talks should be
held, adding that Moscow could not stand aside while people were being
shot 'almost at point blank'. His comments came as leaders in Europe and
the U.S. readied themselves to tighten sanctions in an attempt to
halt what they say is direct Russian military involvement in the war in
Ukraine. Today, Ukrainian troops and residents were reinforcing the port
of Mariupol, the next big city in the path of pro-Russian fighters, who
have already pushed back government forces along the Azov Sea in the
past week.
Putin calls for urgent talks on 'statehood' for east Ukraine as Europe and America prepare new sanctions against Russia
- Putin says Moscow can not stand aside while people were being shot
- Spokesman says 'statehood' comment does not mean Moscow endorses rebel calls for independence in the territory they have seized
- Tightened sanctions planned to halt 'Russian military involvement in the war'
- Ukrainian troops reinforce port of Mariupol against pro-Russia separatists
- People in the city assist troops, while others flee in fear of rebel assault
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has today called for urgent talks on
'statehood' for southern and eastern Ukraine as Europe and America
prepared new sanctions against Russia.
The
leader of the Kremlin said immediate talks should be held, adding that
Moscow could not stand aside while people were being shot 'almost at
point blank'.
His
comments came as leaders in Europe and the U.S. readied themselves to
tighten sanctions in an attempt to halt what they say is direct Russian
military involvement in the war in Ukraine.
Rebels have rallied behind the term 'New Russia'
since Putin first used it in April. Above, a man prepares to shoot at
targets depicting a portrait of the Russian president at a shooting
range in Lviv, Ukraine, on Sunday
A man prepares to shoot at targets marked with
Putin's face in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Sunday. The past
week has seen Ukrainian forces flee in the path of a new rebel advance
A bullet-ridden picture of Vladimir Putin hangs
at a shooting range in Lviv, Ukraine. Today, Ukrainian troops and
residents were reinforcing the port of Mariupol, the next big city in
the path of pro-Russian fighters
Today, Ukrainian
troops and residents were reinforcing the port of Mariupol, the next
big city in the path of pro-Russian fighters, who have already pushed
back government forces along the Azov Sea in the past week.
Ukraine
and Russia swapped soldiers who had entered each other's territory near
the battlefield, where Kiev says Moscow's forces have come to the aid
of pro-Russian insurgents, tipping the balance on the battlefield in the
rebels' favour.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin has called for urgent talks on 'statehood' for
southern and eastern Ukraine, adding that Moscow could not stand aside
while people were being shot 'almost at point blank'
Speaking
in an interview with Channel 1 state television, Putin said talks
should focus not only 'on technical issues but on the political
organisation of society and statehood in southeastern Ukraine'.
His
use of the term 'statehood' was interpreted in some quarters as
implying backing for the rebel demand of independence, something Moscow
has so far stopped short of publicly endorsing.
However,
his spokesman Dmitry Peskov then clarified that this did not mean that
Moscow was now backing rebel calls for independence in the territory
they have seized.
Asked
if 'New Russia', a term pro-Moscow rebels use for their territory,
should still be part of Ukraine, Peskov said: 'Of course.'
'Only
Ukraine can reach an agreement with New Russia, taking into account the
interests of New Russia, and this is the only way to reach a political
settlement.'
Rebels
have rallied behind the term 'New Russia' since Putin first used it in a
public appearance in April. Putin called it a tsarist-era term for land
that now forms southern and eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainians consider the term deeply offensive and say it reveals Moscow's imperial designs on their territory.
Moscow
has long called for Kiev to hold direct political talks with the
rebels, and although leaders in Ukraine are willing to have talks on
more rights for the south and east, they will not talk directly to armed
fighters described as 'international terrorists' and Russian puppets
that can only be reined in by Moscow.
The
deputy leader of the rebel Donetsk People's Republic, Andrei Prugin,
said he was due to participate in talks in the Belarus capital Minsk on
Monday.
Past talks
by a so-called 'contact group' involving Moscow, Kiev and rebels have
covered technical issues like access to the crash site of a Malaysian
airliner shot down in July, but not political questions.
The past week has seen Ukrainian forces
flee in the path of a new rebel advance, drawing concern from Ukraine's
Western allies, who say armoured columns of Russian troops came to the
aid of a rebellion that would otherwise have been near collapse.
Clarification:
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, pictured left with Putin on Friday,
clarified that the President's comments did not mean that Moscow was
backing rebel calls for independence in territory they have seized
Yesterday,
European Union leaders agreed to draw up new economic sanctions against
Moscow, a move hailed by the United States, which is planning tighter
sanctions of its own and wants to act jointly with Europe.
The
United States and European Union have gradually tightened economic
sanctions against Russia, first imposed after Moscow annexed Ukraine's
Crimea peninsula in March following the ousting of Kiev's pro-Russian
president by protesters.
So far, however, the measures have done
little to deter Putin, who gave a typically defiant public appearance on
Friday in which he described Russians and Ukrainians as 'practically
one people' and compared Kiev's attempts to recapture rebellious cities
with the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.
Taking action: People in Mariupol dig
trenches and make fortifications with sandbags as they help Ukrainian
troops to organise their defence on the outskirts of the southern
Ukrainian city
Taking flight: A pro-Russian rebel
watches as Ukrainian troops evacuate from the rebel-held town of
Starobesheve, eastern Ukraine yesterday
Russia is a strong nuclear power, and foreigners should understand that 'it's best not to mess with us', he said.
Moscow
has responded to sanctions by banning the import of most Western
foodstuffs, stripping French cheese and Polish apples from store shelves
and shutting down McDonalds restaurants. The moves reinforce a sense
among Russians that they are isolated from a hostile world, as in Cold
War days.
Agreeing
the Western sanctions has been tricky, not least because the 28-member
European Union must take decisions by consensus and many of its
countries depend on Russian energy resources.
Nevertheless,
the EU has gone further than many had predicted, agreeing to impose
sanctions on Russia's financial and oil industries last month after a
Malaysian airliner was shot down over rebel territory, killing nearly
300 people, most of them Dutch.
Tanked: Pro-Russian fighters sit on top of their T-64 tank in Starobesheve, southeast of Donetsk, today
Force: Separatists were preparing a
fresh offensive on the key coastal location of Mariupol today, as EU
leaders gave Moscow one week to curb its support for the rebels or face
new sanctions
EU
leaders agreed on Saturday to ask the executive European Commission to
draw up more sanctions measures, which could be adopted in coming days.
The
White House praised the move to 'show strong support for Ukraine's
sovereignty and territorial integrity'. But in a sign of the difficulty
in achieving an EU consensus, the leader of tiny Slovakia said sanctions
had failed so far and threatened to veto any new ones that damaged his
country's national interest.
In
Maripol, people have taken to the streets to show support for the
Ukrainian government as pro-Russian forces gain ground. Many others have
fled from the prospect of an all-out assault on the city of nearly
500,000 people.
'We
are proud to be from this city and we are ready to defend it from the
occupiers,' said Alexandra, 28, a post office clerk wearing a ribbon in
blue and yellow Ukrainian colours.
'We
will dig trenches. We will throw petrol bombs at them, the occupiers,"
she said. "I believe our army and our (volunteer) battalions will
protect us.'
Ihor,
42, and his wife Lena, 40, were packing their car to flee with their
five-year-old daughter. They had sheltered in Mariupol after battle came
to their home city Donetsk in July.
'We will not wait for another repetition of war. We did nothing to provoke it and we do not want to be a part of it,' said Lena.
Discussions: EU leaders, including
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, left, and British Prime Minister
David Cameron, right, met on Saturday to discuss drawing up more
sanctions measures
A
swap of soldiers overnight at the frontier was a rare gesture to ease
tension, but Kiev and Moscow have given starkly opposing accounts of how
their troops came to be on each other's territory. A Russian paratroop
commander said an unspecified number of Russian paratroops were swapped
for 63 Ukrainian soldiers. Kiev said the Russian soldiers numbered nine.
Kiev
and its allies in Europe and the United States say the new rebel
offensive has been backed by more than 1,000 Russian troops fighting
openly to support the insurgents. The rebels themselves say thousands of
Russian troops have fought on their behalf while 'on leave'.
Moscow
denies its troops are fighting in Ukraine and says a small party of
soldiers crossed the border by accident. Russian Major-General Alexei
Ragozin said the paratroops were handed back after 'very difficult'
negotiations.
'I consider it unacceptable that our servicemen were detained by the Ukrainian side for so many days,' he said.
'Our
lads are upset about everything that happened. They will all receive
the necessary psychological and other kinds of help. The lads will all
be OK.'
Ragozin
said Russia, by contrast, had promptly returned hundreds of Ukrainian
soldiers who at various times have crossed the border when squeezed by
rebel forces. He said the latest group of 63 had entered Russia on
Wednesday.
Kiev
has in the past said some of its soldiers crossed into Russia to escape
from fighting on the Ukrainian side of the frontier, behaviour that
contrasts with that of the Russians it says crossed the border to wage
war in Ukraine. Ukraine's military spokesman has mocked the idea that
the Russians had 'got lost like Little Red Riding Hood in the forest'.
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