| Voice of America | - |
The
United States is considering supplying arms to Ukraine, where unrest in
eastern cities bears the hallmarks of a Russian destabilization drive,
an adviser to Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday.
News / Europe
Kerry Adviser: Arming Ukraine Forces Is Option
Related video report by Henry Ridgwell in Donetsk
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April 14, 2014
Asked during a trip to Berlin whether the United States could arm Ukrainian forces, senior diplomat Thomas Shannon said: “Obviously we are looking at that as an option... but at this point I can't anticipate whether or not we are going to do that,” according to Reuters.
Republican Senator John McCain has suggested providing weapons to Ukraine’s government, which says the separatist actions in eastern Ukraine are part of a Russian-led plan to dismember the country.
“From our point of view what we are seeing in a series of cities mimics what we saw in Crimea both in terms of the tactics and in terms of the people involved,” said Shannon, who holds the title of counsellor.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed Western accusations that Moscow is destabilizing Ukraine, saying the situation could improve only if Kyiv took into account the interests of Russian-speaking regions.
Separatists call on Putin
Pro-Russia separatists who said they were part of a new “Donetsk People's Republic” in eastern Ukraine appealed on Monday for Russian President Vladimir Putin to help defend them against Ukrainian government forces.
Speaking at a news conference at the headquarters of the city administration of Slovyansk, a separatist leader asked Putin “to personally direct your attention to the unfolding situation and help us as much as you can.”
The plea for help came hours after a Kyiv-set deadline expired under which separatists occupying government building in eastern Ukraine were to disarm or face an assault by Ukrainian security forces.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Putin says the Russian president is watching the situation in Ukraine with great concern.
Asked about a call by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine for Putin to help defend them against government forces, Dmitry Peskov said Monday that there were “a great many such appeals coming.”
The U.S. and other Western powers are accusing Russia of fomenting the unrest as a possible pretext for intervention.
Chatter intercepted
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claims it has intercepted chatter between separatists in eastern Ukraine and their Russian commanders.
The SBU published a recording of several alleged intercepts with transcriptions on its YouTube channel.
"[The intercepts] confirm that the Russian Federation is conducting a large-scale military aggression in eastern Ukraine...," says a statement the SBU published on its website.
The statement adds that the operation is being implemented by elite units of the Russian Armed Forces.
The SBU says that the objective of these units is to "terrorize local citizens, to sabotage planned talks between Ukraine, the U.S, the EU and Russia, and to destroy Ukrainian law enforcement [structures].”
Referendum not ruled out
Also on Monday, Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, says he is not against a nationwide referendum on what kind of country Ukraine should be.
Turchynov said he is certain a majority would support a united and independent Ukraine, possibly giving broader local rights to the east. He said such a vote could be held at the same time as the May 25 presidential election.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday he believes Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the eastern part of the country should be part of drafting a new constitution.
Pro-Russia demonstrators who have seized Ukrainian government buildings in several cities, including yet another in Horlivka on Monday, are demanding a referendum on whether to split with Ukraine and join Russia - similar to last month's vote in Crimea.
Turchynov threatened to launch a "large-scale anti-terrorist operation" against those who have taken over the buildings.
However, a Monday morning deadline passed without any sign of movement by Ukrainian security forces.
Russia blasted at UN
Russia came under heavy criticism from world powers at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council late Sunday, as armed pro-Russia separatists seized more government buildings in eastern Ukraine.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power and British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant accused Russia of orchestrating the take-overs.
Power said the instability in Ukraine was "completely man-made." She said it was "written and choreographed" by Russia. Grant called on the Security Council to warn Russia against "further military escalation."
Russia, which had called the meeting, rejected the charges.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin called on the international community to demand that those who are in power in Kyiv stop war on their own citizens.
Latest images from Ukraine:
US, Ukraine sign assistance deal
The United States and Ukraine on Monday signed a $1 billion loan guarantee agreement, approved earlier this month by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama.
“This agreement is part of a package of assistance… which will support the Ukrainian people's aspiration for their own democratic and economic stability,” said U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) official Paige Alexander who participated in the signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., along with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Ukraine’s Minister of Finance Oleksandr Shlapak.
“The loan guarantee will complement the financing that Ukraine is expected to obtain from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), other international financial institutions, the European Union, and other donors as part of a larger economic reform and restructuring plan,” a USAID statement said.
EU threatens more sanctions
The European Union threatened Russia with more sanctions on Monday over its actions in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine dominated talks among EU foreign ministers after Kyiv threatened military action against pro-Russian separatists occupying government buildings in the east.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the EU now needed to discuss adding more people to a list of 33 Russian and Ukrainian officials targeted by EU asset freezes and travel bans.
But other governments were more cautious on sanctions, underscoring concerns in parts of Europe about antagonizing a power with an energy stranglehold over the bloc, and put their faith in talks planned for Geneva on Thursday.
Germany said the planned meeting between the EU, the U.S., Russia and Ukraine could help calm tensions even though the option of sanctions remained on the table.
In addition to widening asset freezes and visa bans, the EU is discussing possible more far-reaching measures, such as restrictions on trade and finance with Russia.
The EU ministers also formally approved an assistance package for cash-strapped Ukraine and a plan to provide temporary tariff preferences for Ukrainian goods.
OSCE pushes dialogue
Didier Burkhalter, chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said on Monday the Ukrainian government would organize discussions on decentralization across the regions.
“We have discussed that this morning with the government [which] is ready to work closely for organizing roundtables in the regions immediately,” Burkhalter said during a news conference in Kyiv.
OSCE monitors have been assessing the situation in eastern Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk and Slovyansk. Burkhalter said the situation on the ground was tense.
“I'd like to call upon all sides to move the situation away from confrontation,” said Burkhalter adding that challenges must be tackled through inclusive and structured dialogue.
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