Ukrainian separatists agree to resume peace talks. Ukrainian separatists agreed on Thursday to resume peace talks to end the conflict in the east, but President Petro Poroshenko warned he might not extend a ceasefire beyond Friday night if their gesture was aimed only at buying time. The move by the pro-Russian rebels, who have been fighting government forces since April, came after German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the second time in two days to discuss how to end the crisis. But, despite Western pressure on him, Poroshenko hinted heavily that there might be no extension of the ceasefire unless Kiev was satisfied with the results of contact group talks. “It [Friday] is a very important day: If our conditions for the peace plan are not accepted, then we will make a very important decision,” online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda quoted him as telling the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. Poroshenko, installed as president only on June 7 and under pressure from his electorate not to bow to the separatists, has warned that government forces would switch to a “detailed Plan B” – widely assumed to be a government offensive – if the rebels use the ceasefire to re-arm and regroup. Poroshenko has called on Russia to support his peace plan “with deeds, not words.” Speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Thursday, the President called for Moscow to support the peace plan with deeds to “stop the killing of civilians and the military” and prevent armed separatists from crossing the Russian border into Ukraine. Putin said he supports the plan. This week he won agreement from the upper chamber of the parliament to cancel authorization for the use of force in Ukraine. theglobeandmail/news/world/ukraine/article19346456/
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 18:19:41 +0000
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