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THE US and Russia failed to reach a breakthrough deal on Ukraine yesterday as US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Moscow to pull back its forces, saying they were creating a “climate of fear.”But the two sides did agree to keep talking after what were described as “frank” and “constructive” negotiations lasting about four hours late into the night at the lavish residence of the Russian ambassador to Paris.
Both sides stressed they believe in finding a diplomatic solution and put forward plans on how to end the crisis, triggered in February when the pro-Moscow government in Kiev fell and the Kremlin sent thousands of troops into Crimea before annexing the southern peninsula.
Washington and its allies have imposed stinging sanctions on Moscow for its flagrant land grab and for massing thousands of troops on the borders of eastern Ukraine. US officials believe the measures are biting hard and causing Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a way out.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the hastily arranged talks with Kerry in Paris had been “constructive” and would continue, but he reiterated Russia’s belief that Ukraine should become a federal nation.
Kerry said Washington had agreed to study Moscow’s ideas unveiled in the “frank” talks, but stressed the US administration believed Russia’s “actions to be illegal and illegitimate”. He urged Russia to pull back its forces from the borders of Ukraine, and said any talks on the country’s future must include Kiev’s leaders.
“We will not accept a path forward where the legitimate government of Ukraine is not at the table. This principle is clear. No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Kerry said later.
Any progress “must include a pullback of the very large Russian force . . . massing along Ukraine’s borders”, Kerry said.
“The Russian troop build-up is creating a climate of fear and intimidation in Ukraine.”
Kerry said even if the troops remained on Russian soil and did not enter Ukraine, they created a negative atmosphere.
“The question is not of right or legality,” he said. “The question is . . . whether it’s smart to have troops massed on the border.”
US officials said Kerry proposed a number of ideas on troop withdrawals from the border and Lavrov, while making no promises, told him he would present the proposals to the Kremlin.
Lavrov did not mention troops in his press conference, and both sides said differences remained.
Washington would work with the new interim leaders in Kiev to ensure the rights of minorities and language rights, as well as the disarmament of militias and free and fair presidential elections next month, Kerry said, in a tacit acknowledgment of some of Moscow’s concerns.
Moscow’s plan would allow parts of Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, to declare Russian as a second official language and secure more independence from Kiev — a move analysts view as a bid to weaken the authority of what is likely to be a permanent new pro-Western leadership.
Lavrov said Ukraine could not function as a “unified state” and should be a loose federation of regions each allowed to choose their economic, financial, social, linguistic and religious models. — AP.
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