Ukraine deal hailed ‘relief for Europe’
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GUNS will fall silent, heavy weapons will pull back from the front, and Ukraine will trade a broad autonomy for the east to get back control of its Russian border by the end of this year under a peace deal hammered out yesterday in all-night negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
The deal was full of potential pitfalls that could derail its implementation, however. In announcing the plan, Russia and Ukraine differed over what exactly they had agreed to in marathon 16-hour talks, including the status of a key town now under siege by rebels.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that the agreement envisages a cease-fire beginning on Sunday night as well as a special status for Ukraine’s separatist regions and provisions to address border concerns and humanitarian issues.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said there was no agreement on any autonomy or federalization for eastern Ukraine, a longtime demand of Russia, which wants that to maintain leverage over Ukraine and prevent it from ever joining NATO.
The deal, however, requires the Ukrainian parliament to give wide powers to the eastern regions as a condition for restoring Ukraine’s full control over its border with Russia — a provision certain to trigger heated political debate in Kiev.
Uncertainty remained even on the cease-fire, as Putin admitted that he and Poroshenko disagreed on the situation at a key eastern flashpoint, the government-held town of Debaltseve.
“We now have a glimmer of hope,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who brokered the talks in the Belarusian capital of Minsk together with French President Francois Hollande. “But the concrete steps of course have to be taken, and we will still face major obstacles. But, on balance, I can say what we have achieved gives significantly more hope than if we had achieved nothing.”
More than 5,300 people have died since April in the fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and government troops. Battles continued to rage yesterday even as the four leaders were holding peace talks.
The new deal envisages a buffer zone created by pulling back heavy artillery and rocket systems 50 to 140 kilometers from the front line, depending on their caliber. The withdrawal should begin no later than the second day after the cease-fire becomes effective and should be completed within two weeks.
In a win for Ukraine, the rebel regions, which held their own elections last fall that Ukraine and the West declared a sham, are obliged to hold a new vote.
But in a key concession to Russia, the deal says the restoration of Ukrainian control over the border with Russia in rebel-controlled areas could be completed only by the end of 2015 on the condition that Ukraine conducts a constitutional reform granting wide powers to the eastern regions, including the right to form their own police force and trade freely with Russia.
“It was not the best night in my life, but the morning, I think, is good because we have managed to agree on the main things despite all the difficulties of the negotiations,” Putin told reporters.
Hollande said he and Merkel are committed to helping verify the cease-fire process in Ukraine, hailing the deal a “relief to Europe.”
In Kiev, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said despite the ongoing peace talks, Russia overnight sent 50 tanks and a dozen heavy weapons into Ukraine across the rebel-controlled border.
It was not immediately possible to verify the figures, which were higher than in previous such statements. Moscow dismisses them as groundless.
A previous cease-fire agreed in September fell apart as Ukrainian forces and the rebels both tried to gain more ground.
Troops withdrawal
Poroshenko stressed that the agreement contains “a clear commitment to withdraw all foreign troops, all mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine,” a reference to the Russian soldiers and weapons that Ukraine and the West say Russia has sent into eastern Ukraine to back the rebels.
Moscow has denied the accusations, saying any Russia fighters were volunteers.
Merkel said Putin exerted pressure on the separatists to get them to agree to the cease-fire.
“I have no illusions, we have no illusions. A great, great deal of work is still necessary. But there is a real chance to make things better,” she said.
The French-German diplomatic dash came as President Barack Obama considered sending US lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, a move that European nations feared would only widen the hostilities.
The urgency felt by all sides appeared to be underlined by the extraordinary length and discomfort of the talks, which began on Wednesday evening and continued uninterrupted through the night. Crowds of reporters waited anxiously in a convention hall in Minsk, with one whisked away to be treated for exhaustion, according to the Interfax news agency.
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