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NATO, Russia to Meet on Ukraine Crisis
by VOA News
NATO and Russia have agreed to meet Wednesday for talks on the crisis
in Ukraine. That meeting, in Brussels, will be the first public
contact between the Western defense alliance and Russia's envoys since
its forces moved into Ukraine's Crimean peninsula late last week.
NATO announced the extraordinary session Tuesday, saying it was
requested by Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The alliance
offered no further details.
Members of NATO met earlier Tuesday at the request of Poland, which
shares a border with Ukraine. Afterward, the alliance said the Russian
military presence in Ukraine presents "serious implications for the
security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic area."
Meanwhile in Paris, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to
meet Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Obama calls for direct Moscow-Kyiv talks
U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday called on Russia to open talks with
the Ukraine's interim government, and to allow international monitors
to determine whether ethnic Russians in Ukraine are under threat, as
alleged by Moscow.
Obama spoke in Washington, following a news conference in Moscow by
Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader defended his
country's military intervention in the Crimean peninsula last week,
saying he reserves the right to protect Russians in Ukraine. But he
also insisted that gunmen blocking Ukrainian military units in the
region are "local self-defense forces," not Russian soldiers.
President Obama countered that Moscow has no legal right to intervene
militarily, while acknowledging that Putin "seems to have a different
set of lawyers making a different set of interpretations."
Late Tuesday, in a sign interpreted cautiously by analysts, NATO said
Russia has agreed to attend an emergency NATO-Russia council meeting in
Brussels Wednesday to discuss the crisis.
Kerry condemns Russian 'aggression'
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States would prefer
to de-escalate tensions with Russia over Ukraine.
During a visit to Kyiv Tuesday, Kerry met Ukraine's interim leaders and
announced a $1 billion economic package and technical assistance for
the new government.
He also condemned the presence of Russian troops in Crimea as an "act
of aggression."
Meeting with reporters while in Kyiv, Kerry said diplomacy and respect
for sovereignty, not unilateral force, can best resolve the dispute
over Ukraine.
"We are not seeking confrontation," he said. "There is a better way for
Russia to pursue its legitimate interests in Ukraine."
Kerry said if Russia does not choose to de-escalate the situation
through diplomatic means, the U.S. and its partners will have no choice
but to isolate Russia politically and economically.
European Union foreign ministers have issued a Thursday deadline for
Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull back his troops or face
punitive measures.
The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that Moscow would retaliate against
any sanctions.
'Moving' visit
'''During his one-day visit, Kerry met enthusiastic crowds at
Independence Square, where some protesters chanted "thank you" to
America's top diplomat, who also placed flowers at a memorial to fallen
protesters.
Kerry said he was moved by his visit to Independence Square, noting the
bullet holes, barricades and barbed wire he saw there.
He praised "brave Ukranians who stood against tyranny" asking for the
right to define their own future.
"It is universal, it is unmistakable, this call for freedom," Kerry
said. "In this transformation, we will stand with the people of
Ukraine."
Russia considers 'all options'
Earlier Tuesday, Putin said he would use force in Ukraine only as a
last resort.
''In his first public comments since the crisis began, Putin said
there had been an unconstitutional coup in Ukraine and that ousted
President Viktor Yanukovych was still the legitimate leader.
"As for bringing in forces. For now there is no such need but such a
possibility exists,'' Putin said, looking relaxed as he sat before a
small group of reporters at his residence near Moscow. "It would
naturally be the last resort, absolutely the last."'
But tension remained high on the ground. Reuters reported that Russian
forces fired warning shots in a confrontation with Ukrainian servicemen
at an air base, and Russian navy ships were reported to have blockaded
the strait separating the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula from Russia.
Also Tuesday, Russia said it had successfully test-fired an
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) which was launched about 450
km east of the Ukrainian border. A U.S. official said the United States
had received notification from Russia ahead of the test and that the
initial notification pre-dated the crisis in Crimea.
WATCH: RFE/RL video of Pro-Russian Troops in Simferopol, Crimea
''
Meantime, Ukraine said on Tuesday that observers from a pan-European
security body would travel at its invitation to the Crimea region,
where Russian forces have taken control, in an attempt to defuse a
military standoff, Reuters reported.
It was not immediately clear whether Russia would allow monitors to
enter the region, where it controls the airspace and access points.
Diplomatic sources told Reuters Russia's agreement was not legally
necessary.
Elsewhere, Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops taking part in
military exercises in western Russia, near the Ukrainian border, to
return to base. The exercises were scheduled to end, so it is unclear
whether the move was intended to help ease tensions.
Telecommunications 'attack,' protecting nuclear power
The head of Ukraine's security service said the country's
telecommunications system has come under attack. Valentyn Nalivaichenko
said equipment installed in Russian-controlled Crimea was used to
interfere with the mobile phones of members of parliament, Reuters
reported Tuesday.
Some Internet and telephone services were interrupted after Russian
forces seized control of airfields and key installations in Ukraine's
Crimea region Friday, but now lawmakers were being targeted,
Nalivaichenko told a news briefing.
"I confirm that an...attack is under way on mobile phones of members
of Ukrainian parliament for the second day in row,'' he said.
Reuters reported that Ukraine is also reinforcing security at its 15
nuclear power plants because of "a grave threat to the security" of the
country posed by the Russian military, it told the U.N. atomic watchdog
on Tuesday.
''Crimea is a Black Sea peninsula placed under Ukrainian control in
1954 by then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. It remained part of
Ukraine when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Crimea has a tiny border with Russia on its far eastern point, and the
Crimean port of Sevastapol is home to Russia's Black Sea fleet. Most of
the people living in Crimea are ethnic Russians, but the region also is
home to ethnic Muslim Tatars, who generally show disdain for Russia.
Ukraine's troubles began in November, when President Yanukovych backed
out of a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties and
economic aid from Russia. The move triggered weeks of pro-Western
anti-government demonstrations in Kyiv and elsewhere in Ukraine, and
forced the pro-Russian Yanukovych to flee the capital in late February.
WATCH: Related video report by Luis Ramirez:
''
IFRAME: [1]//storify.com/voa_news/ukraine-on-the-brink-of-war/embed
[[2]View the story "Ukraine Readies for Conflict After Russian Acts of
Aggression" on Storify]
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[3]http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-china-agree-on-ukraine-g7-cond
emns-russian-violation/1862761.html
References
1. file://storify.com/voa_news/ukraine-on-the-brink-of-war/embed
2. file://storify.com/voa_news/ukraine-on-the-brink-of-war
3. http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-china-agree-on-ukraine-g7-condemns-russian-violation/1862761.html