Putin backs east Ukraine ‘state’
MOSCOW/ MARIUPOL (Ukraine)
Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Sunday for immediate talks on “statehood” for southern and eastern Ukraine, although his spokesman said this did not mean Moscow now endorsed rebel calls for independence for territory they have seized.
The Kremlin leader’s remarks, which follow a feisty public appearance in which he compared the Kyiv government to Nazis and warned the West not to “mess with us”, came with Europe and the US preparing new sanctions to halt what they say is direct Russian military involvement in the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops and local residents were reinforcing the port of Mariupol on Sunday, the next big city in the path of pro-Russian fighters who pushed back government forces along the Azov Sea this past week in an offensive on a new front.
Ukraine and Russia swapped soldiers who had entered each other’s territory near the battlefield, where Kyiv says Moscow’s forces have come to the aid of pro-Russian insurgents, tipping the balance on the battlefield in the rebels’ favour.
Talks should be held immediately “and not just on technical issues but on the political organisation of society and statehood in southeastern Ukraine,” Putin said in an interview with Channel 1 state TV.
Moscow, for its part, he said, could not stand aside while people were being shot “almost at point blank”.
Putin’s use of the word “statehood” was interpreted in western media as implying backing for the rebel demand of independence, something Moscow has so far stopped short of publicly endorsing.
However, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no new endorsement from Moscow for rebel independence. 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.”
Moscow has long called for Kyiv to hold direct political talks with the rebels. Kyiv says it is willing to have talks on more rights for the south and east, but will not talk directly to armed fighters it describes 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, Kyiv and rebels have covered technical issues like access to the crash site of a Malaysian airliner shot down in July, but not political questions.
On Sunday, EU leaders gave Russia a week to reverse course in Ukraine or face a new round of sanctions as Kyiv warned it was on the brink of “full-scale war” with Moscow.
Fears are growing that the confrontation on the EU’s eastern borders could engulf the whole continent after Russia sent troops to back a new offensive by pro-Kremlin rebels in southeastern Ukraine.
EU President Herman Van Rompuy said the 28 leaders meeting in Brussels agreed to take “further significant steps” if Moscow did not back down. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has been ordered to produce options for new sanctions within a week, he said.
“Everybody is fully aware that we have to act quickly given the evolution on the ground and the tragic loss of life of the last days,” Van Rompuy said.
Late on Saturday, the US expressed support for the announcement by EU leaders giving Russia a week to reverse course in Ukraine or face a new round of sanctions.
“We welcome the European Council’s consensus today to show strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and to prepare further sanctions for consideration in coming days,” said National Security Spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden.
Some residents of Mariupol have taken to the streets of the port 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.
The swap of soldiers overnight at the frontier was a rare gesture to ease tension, but Kyiv 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. Kyiv said the Russian soldiers numbered nine.
Reuters journalists on the Russian side of the border have seen Russian troops showing signs of having returned from battle, with their insignia removed or rubbed out. Despite the evidence, 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.