It appears an intervention is planned for Ukraine. (You can get 3 free FT articles per month if you register) Germany and France have offered to send drone aircraft to help monitor the fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, in a move to assist in stabilising the country and easing tensions between Russia and the west. But the plans face serious political hurdles as the deployment can go ahead only with agreement from Russia, Ukraine and the 55 other members of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the body marshalling efforts to observe the month-old ceasefire. “We are now waiting on reactions not just from the OSCE itself but, above all else, from the member countries,” said Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German foreign minister. “Political and legal questions on this matter still need to be answered.” The OSCE confirmed the proposals had been received, but added that since “the plans are only under discussion, we cannot say anything more about them”. A sticking point could be German and French insistence that the teams controlling the unarmed drones come with armed escorts. It is understood that Berlin would look to send about 200 people and France 150. While France is accustomed to dispatching armed troops on foreign missions, such deployments still attract attention in Germany, which for decades after the second world war had a ban on foreign postings. If armed and uniformed German troops now travel to Ukraine, it would be the first such post-war deployment in the region. The OSCE has been co-ordinating attempts to reach a diplomatic solution in Ukraine, chairing the Minsk talks that led to the shaky ceasefire signed last month. At least 331 people have been killed in the region in that time, according to the UN, including many in fighting around Donetsk airport. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and other leaders will have an opportunity next week to renew top-level efforts to stabilise Ukraine at a European-Asian summit in Milan that will also be attended by President Vladimir Putin of Russia and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko. About 3,600 people have been killed since fighting started in the spring between pro-Russia separatists and Kiev’s forces. ft/intl/cms/s/0/65747b72-5093-11e4-b73e-00144feab7de.html#axzz3G3KA1au8
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 21:43:43 +0000