Saturday, February 7, 2015

Peace Talks Fail: Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects attempts to contain Russia after peace talks fail

Ukraine Summit Is Unsuccessful; U.S. Contemplates Next Steps

(Bloomberg) — Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels escalated as Germany and France sought to keep diplomacy alive after inconclusive talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plan a conference call tomorrow to discuss a potential settlement. The plan foresees a demilitarized zone of 50 to 70 kilometers, Hollande told France 2 television. Greater autonomy is needed in the east and it will take “a few more days” to finalize a deal, Hollande said, as cited by France 2.

“It is uncertain whether this will be successful,” Merkel said in Munich on Saturday after she and Hollande met Putin at the Kremlin for more than five hours ending early in the morning. “But in my view and in the view of the French president, it’s at least worth making an attempt,” she said.

The next 24 to 48 hours could determine whether a tenuous peace takes hold or a wider war breaks out, potentially with the U.S. and some European allies supplying arms to Ukraine’s government. A breakdown of the diplomacy would also strain trans-Atlantic unity in dealing with Russia, as Europe’s consensus on economic sanctions shows signs of fraying.

Cease-Fire

A cease-fire decision will come “in hours or days,” Poroshenko said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, adding he had no “preconditions” for a truce but that all elements of the September Minsk peace deal must be honored. Poroshenko earlier said he won’t meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who’s also in Munich.

Merkel, in a speech at the Munich meeting, repeated her opposition to supplying weapons to Ukraine. “The progress Ukraine needs won’t be achieved with more weapons. I have a lot of doubts,” she said.
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Deeper Sanctions

Hanging over the negotiations is the prospect of deeper sanctions on Russia, an economic collapse in Ukraine and the risk that the conflict descends into a proxy war.

Ukraine’s economy has lost 20 percent of its industrial output, Poroshenko said. The hryvnia has been battered and foreign reserves are at an 11-year low. The junk-rated country is in talks with the International Monetary Fund on extending and expanding a $17 billion bailout agreed in April.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-06/merkel-putin-pledge-to-pursue-ukraine-cease-fire-after-talks

Putin Rejects Attempts to Contain Russia After Peace Talks Fail

(Bloomberg) — Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a defiant tone a day after talks in Moscow with the leaders of Germany and France failed to achieve a breakthrough in resolving the Ukraine crisis.

Russia won’t tolerate the post-Cold War global system dominated by a single leader, Putin said Saturday at a meeting with the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Sochi.

“That type of world order has never been acceptable for Russia,” Putin said. “Maybe someone likes it and wants to live under a pseudo-occupation, but we won’t put up with it.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met the Russian leader for more than five hours Friday to discuss spiraling violence in eastern Ukraine between government forces and Russian-backed separatists. A breakdown of the diplomacy may strain trans-Atlantic unity in dealing with Russia, as Europe’s consensus on economic sanctions shows signs of fraying.
Ukraine, the U.S., the European Union and NATO say Russia is supporting the separatists with hardware, cash and troops, accusations the Kremlin denies. Russia says Ukraine is waging war on its own citizens and discriminates against Russian speakers, a majority in Donetsk and Luhansk.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-07/putin-rejects-attempts-to-contain-russia-after-peace-talks-fail?hootPostID=970dccc3a86f944fc21e7e7405a0f059

http://investmentwatchblog.com/peace-talks-fail-russian-president-vladimir-putin-rejects-attempts-to-contain-russia-after-peace-talks-fail/
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