Ukraine Seeks Concrete Steps from Russia on Truce, Moscow Endorses U.S.-Blacklisted Medvedchuk in Talks
Ukraine on Saturday sought concrete steps from Russia to back up a tenuous truce it extended with pro-Moscow rebels in the hope of calming a deadly insurgency sparked by its new westward course.
President Petro Poroshenko returned triumphant from Brussels on Friday having opened the way to Ukraine's eventual membership in the European Union by signing the final chapters of a landmark free trade and political association accord.
The 1,200-page tome spells out the minute details of the terms under which the splintered ex-Soviet nation will slip from the Kremlin's embrace and tie its future to European economic standards and values on human rights.
But Poroshenko had ordered his top security chiefs to meet him at the airport on landing in order to make a fateful decision about prolonging an expiring truce with rebels who have seized effective control of Ukraine's industrial east.
The 12-week insurgency has killed more than 440 people and is viewed by both Kiev and its Western allies as Russian President Vladimir Putin's retribution for the February toppling of a leader who had ditched the very EU accord Poroshenko had signed in Brussels in favor of closer ties to the Kremlin.
Poroshenko ultimately decided to extend the shaky ceasefire until Monday evening under the condition that Russia requires the insurgents to return border crossings to Ukrainian forces and set up a monitoring mechanism for a long-term truce.
The Ukrainian military on Saturday reported sporadic attacks by pro-Russian gunmen that resulted in no casualties and appeared to be on the decline in comparison to previous days.
Poroshenko is expected to enlist the support of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande when he places a scheduled call to Putin on the eve of the ceasefire's expiry.
Sunday's teleconference -- the second in four days -- is primarily meant to check on any visible shift in Moscow before the European Union and Washington consider unleashing biting sanctions against Russia's financial and defense sectors the following day.
Putin has publicly backed the ceasefire's extensions and promoted direct talks between Poroshenko and top rebel commanders.
But the West wants the Kremlin chief to call on the fighters to lay down their weapons and relinquish control of state buildings they had seized across a dozen eastern cities and towns.
EU leaders agreed at their Brussels summit "to reconvene at any time to adopt further significant restrictive measures if a detailed list of concrete steps are not taken by Russia and the separatists by Monday."
The United States stressed that it was also ready to act at any point.
"We have never outlined a deadline for sanctions," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in Washington.
"We can make decisions at the time of our choosing on sanctions, and we have done so and will continue to do so."
Russia's economy has already suffered from a massive outflow of capital from investors jittery about the impact of possible restrictions being imposed on the country's banks and export sectors.
Moody's on Friday cut Russia's rating outlook to "negative" due to growing "geopolitical risk".
And Russia's Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev admitted on Saturday that new sanctions could "seriously" impact already-stalled growth.
But public statements in Russia have thus far suggested that it was busy preparing an economic counteroffensive against Ukraine that would put up prohibitive barriers to its trade.
Putin's spokesman said Russia would have no choice but impose restrictions to prevent cheap but high-quality EU goods from flooding its market after Kiev and Brussels agree to free trade.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added on Saturday that Moscow would treat Ukraine and the ex-Soviet states of Georgia of Moldova that signed their own EU deals on Friday "based one criterium -- how (the agreements) might hurt Russian trade."
Russian and EU ministers have tentatively agreed to meet on July 11 to discuss how Moscow's concerns might be best addressed.
Meanwhile, Russia has given its backing to a Ukrainian politician blacklisted by the United States to act as a negotiator in talks aimed at ending violence in eastern Ukraine.
Viktor Medvedchuk, head of the political organisation Ukrainian Choice, has been involved in tentative talks between separatists in the country's east and the government in Kiev.
Speaking on Saturday, Lavrov said Medvedchuk "must be supported in his efforts."
"Viktor Medvedchuk is in good communication with us," Lavrov told state channel Rossiya. "He is well known in Russia, he has good contacts with all political forces in Ukraine."
The informal talks in Donetsk, aimed at ending the bloody standoff between separatists and the Ukrainian army, have involved an assortment of figures including Russian ambassador Mikhail Zurabov, former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, and the "prime minister" of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk, Alexander Borodai.
The Kremlin last week singled out Medvedchuk, applauding his participation.
"He is respected in Kiev, he is known in the West," the Kremlin said in a statement, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin "welcomes" his presence in eastern Ukraine.
But Medvedchuk is viewed with suspicion by the U.S., which considers him to be a Russian stooge.
Medvedchuk was chief of staff to Kuchma, the pro-Russian president of Ukraine who held office from 1994 to 2005.
He has not held public office for almost a decade. Some reports claim Putin is godfather to his daughter.
He was put on a blacklist by the United States in March over his role in "stirring conflict" near Crimea ahead of its annexation by Moscow.
The U.S. Treasury called him "a long-time proxy and close personal friend" of Putin and accused him of involvement in the violence against protesters in Kiev in December that later spiraled out of control and brought down the government.
Lavrov said Medvedchuk had been invited by Ukraine's new pro-Western president, Petro Poroshenko, "with the agreement of other participants in the process."
Medvedchuk has vehemently denied allegations in the media that he supports the separatists.
"I can only give one comment: Ukraine needs peace," he said in a statement posted on his organisation's website on Saturday.
Source: Agence France Presse
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