Can fragile truce prevent Ukraine falling into abyss?
A FRAGILE deal to stop the violence in the Ukraine was agreed last night – just hours after President Vladimir Putin warned the country was ‘heading into the abyss’.
Hours after the worst fighting of the crisis left three pro-Russian insurgents dead and 13 injured, diplomats spent seven hours in Geneva hammering out an agreement to calm tensions.
Under the deal, militias would surrender weapons, all sides will refrain from violence, intimidation or provocative actions and the control of buildings seized by pro- Russian separatists during protests in ten cities returned to the authorities.
Crucially, it also gives amnesty to protesters who comply with the demands, except those found guilty of committing capital crimes.
British and other international monitors with the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe will be tasked with helping Ukraine authorities and communities comply with the requirements outlined in the agreement.
The tentative agreement reached by diplomats from the US, European Union, Ukraine and Russia could put on hold economic sanctions the west had prepared to impose on Russia if the talks were fruitless. It faces a test today after pro-Russian protesters said they would not give up their occupations until pro-EU supporters in kiev gave up their two-month-long vigil in Maidan Square.
Speaking about the anti-terror offensive launched by the Ukrainian government, Russian President Putin said: ‘I hope that they are able to realise what a pit, what an abyss the current authorities are in and dragging the country into.’
during a live TV phone-in before the Geneva summit, Putin rejected claims that Russian special forces are foment-
‘Further provocation’
ing unrest in eastern Ukraine. ‘It’s all nonsense – there are no Russian units, special services or instructors in the east of Ukraine,’ he insisted, while he demanded Ukraine pay i ts £1.6 billion debt for Russian gas within the next month or face the consequences. Putin added that Russia has no interest in reviving Cold war-era divisions, even if it felt threatened by nato’s eastward expansion.
‘The Iron Curtain is a Soviet invention,’ Putin said, adding, ‘we have no intention of closing off our country and our society from anyone.’
His declarations were met with fierce condemnation by Ukraine’s leaders, with interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accusing Putin of trying to sabotage the country’s May 25 elections, following the Russian leader’s assertion that the vote is illegitimate.
He said: ‘Russia is playing only one game: further aggravation, further provocation; because the task that Putin today offi- cially announced is to wreck the presidential election.’
Mr Yatsenyuk also said Moscow was responsible for the deaths overnight in clashes at the Mariupol army base in eastern Ukraine.
Three pro-Russian protesters were killed and 13 i njured during an attempted overnight raid by a 300- strong mob of pro-Russian insurgents, many of them armed, on a Ukrainian national Guard base in the Black Sea port.
Officials said warning shots were fired by Ukrainian forces in the base but this did not stop the assault and several raiders were shot in the chaos. At least 63 people involved in the attack were arrested but by last night 38 had been released.