Russian foreign minister accuses West of plotting to control Ukraine
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ACCUSING the West of plotting to control Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared yesterday that the pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine will only lay down their arms if the Ukrainian government clears out the Maidan protest camp in Kiev.
“The West wants — and this is how it all began — to seize control of Ukraine because of their own political ambitions, not in the interests of the Ukrainian people,” Lavrov said.
He added the pro-Russia insurgents will disarm and vacate buildings “only if Kiev authorities get down to implementing the Geneva accords, clear out that shameful Maidan and liberate the buildings that have been illegally seized.”
Ukraine’s reaction was swift.
“The world has not yet forgotten the second World War, but Russia is already keen on starting a third world war,” acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk retorted.
US President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters in Seoul, said the US and Europe are laying the groundwork to sanction broad sections of Russia’s economy if Moscow invades eastern Ukraine, even as he acknowledged those sanctions may fail to deter Vladimir Putin.
Crisis to be discussed
So far, the US has slapped sanctions on individuals but hasn’t targeted entire economic sectors, such as Russia’s critical energy sector.
“We’ll continue to keep some arrows in our quiver in the event we see further deterioration,” Obama said during a news conference in South Korea.
Obama and the leaders of Germany, France, Britain and Italy planned to discuss the crisis yesterday evening during a conference call, US officials said.
The West, meanwhile, has accused Russia of fueling the unrest in Ukraine’s east and failing to use its influence on the pro-Russia insurgents.
“For seven days, Russia has refused to take a single concrete step in the right direction,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday.
“Not a single Russian official, not one, has publicly gone on television in Ukraine and called on the separatists to support the Geneva agreement, to support the stand-down, to give up their weapons and get out of the Ukrainian buildings.”
At issue is who is adhering to the Geneva deal and what is an illegal occupation. In Geneva, Russia and Ukraine agreed that all illegal groups in Ukraine should be disarmed and all illegally occupied public buildings and spaces should be vacated.
Pro-Russia militia have seized and been occupying government buildings in more than 10 cities in eastern Ukraine.
In the capital of Kiev, pro-Ukrainian demonstrators continue to operate a tent camp on the city’s main square, known as the Maidan, and occupy several buildings nearby, including city hall.
Yulia Torhovets, spokeswoman for the Kiev city government, said Ukrainian nationalists have promised to free city hall by the end of this week.
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