adminKIEV. – UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson appealed yesterday for dialogue and de-escalation in the Ukraine crisis as he urged participants to refrain from Cold War reflexes. Speaking to journalists after meeting members of the interim Ukrainian government in Kiev, Eliasson said it was “in everybody’s interest” to find a settlement in Crimea, where pro-Moscow forces are in de facto control.
“I would hope that we have come to the end of the Cold War,” Eliasson said as Russia pushes to maintain its influence over Ukraine, a former member of the Soviet Union.
“It isn’t in the interest of anybody to reawaken these ghosts of the past.”
Instead, he appealed for a “peaceful settlement” and for Russia and Ukraine to sort out their issues at the negotiating table.
“This is not a zero sum game where one wins and the other loses. The conflict in today’s world is always a lose-lose game,” said the Swedish diplomat.
“We hope that we wouldn’t go the road of escalation but rather de-escalation,” he said, reiterating comments made by US President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
Eliasson added that a UN envoy on human rights, Ivan Simonovic, would travel to Crimea over the weekend to look into possible violations.
“We will do everything and get the truth out as much as we can when it comes to human rights violations and even possibly more serious crimes. That is our job,” he said of the mission.
The Black Sea peninsula has come under near complete control by pro-Moscow forces although Russian President Vladimir Putin insists there are no Russian troops there.
Another UN envoy, Robert Serry, was already in Crimea yesterday to “take stock of the situation” and Eliasson said the UN was in close contact with the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
The OSCE said yesterday it was sending a mission of 35 unarmed military observers to Ukraine on an observation mission requested by the new pro-Western authorities in Kiev and set to last until March 12.
Meanwhile, the European Union decided yesterday to freeze assets held in the 28-nation bloc by 18 Ukrainians accused of embezzlement.
The freeze will take effect today when their names are listed in the EU Official Journal and targets 18 people “identified as responsible” for misappropriating Ukrainian state funds, a statement said.
The sanctions, which will apply for an initial 12 months, “also contain provisions facilitating the recovery of the frozen funds,” the statement added, without offering further details.
But an EU source said member states would be able to return seized money only if Ukraine first issued judicial rulings identifying the missing funds.
Britain said the 18 people targeted were suspected of laundering the proceeds of corruption. The list may include ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, one source said.
Swiss authorities have ordered a freeze on the assets of both Yanukovych and his multi-millionaire son, Oleksandr, as well as 18 other former ministers and officials from Ukraine.
Liechtenstein has also frozen the bank accounts of the same officials while Austria has announced moves against 18 Ukrainian officials suspected of violating human rights and involvement in corruption.
The EU’s foreign ministers had already decided on February 20 to apply sanctions to any Ukrainian officials deemed responsible for violence against protesters in the days leading up to Yanukovych’s ouster. – AFP..
But at emergency talks this week, the same ministers agreed “to swiftly work on the adoption of restrictive measures for the freezing and recovery of assets of persons identified as responsible for the misappropriation of state funds.” – AFP.
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