Putin Says Cease Fire With Ukraine is Insufficient
MOSCOW–Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that he didn’t think the week-long cease fire offered by Kyiv
would be enough to negotiate a viable peace plan to end a rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered a unilateral cease fire last Friday and the pro-Russian separatists
agreed to join it Monday and to try to come up with a way to end the violence.
“We think a seven-day cease fire is not enough. Just to announce a cease fire is not sufficient. It is necessary to
start substantive negotiations,” Mr. Putin said in his first comments on the pro-Russian separatists agreeing to the
truce. “If we see that substantive negotiations have started…then there is a big probability of success. That’s the
crucial element today.”
Speaking in Vienna after meeting with European leaders, Mr. Putin said his decision to ask parliament Tuesday to lift
his authority to order military action in Ukraine was taken because “we want to create the conditions for this peace
process,” but that it did not mean Russia was turning its attention away from the situation there.
“We will always defend ethnic Russians in Ukraine as well as that part of the people of Ukraine who…feel themselves
part of the broad Russian world,” he said. “We will follow the situation closely and I hope that we won’t have to use
military force.”
Mr. Putin called it “sad” that rebels had shot down a Ukrainian helicopter near the militant stronghold of Slovyansk
late Tuesday, nearly 24 hours after agreeing to lay down their weapons, thereby casting doubts over the chances of a
successful peace settlement.
“We support the intention of the Ukrainian government and President Poroshenko to achieve a cease fire not just in
words but on the ground,” he said.
Write to Lukas Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 06-24-140735ET Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones Company, Inc.