Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

dipsydoodle

(42,239 posts)
Tue May 13, 2014, 06:30 AM May 2014

Germany Renews Diplomatic Effort to Ease Ukraine Crisis

Source: New York Times

BERLIN — Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany arrived Tuesday in Kiev on Berlin’s latest diplomatic effort to defuse the crisis that has seized the eastern region of Ukraine after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March.

The visit came as the battle lines seemed to harden between the interim authorities in Kiev and separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk who held contentious referendums on Sunday and claimed the ballots showed overwhelming support for secession. Both sides are backed by armed forces locked in an uneasy standoff that has led to clashes and bloodshed.

Russia, the key power broker in the region, stopped short of outright recognition of the drive for secession, using the results to press proposals for a negotiated autonomy for those provinces.

>

Mr. Steinmeier met the acting prime minister of Ukraine, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, in Kiev and had plans to travel on to Odessa on the Black Sea, where a horrific fire killed some 40 people earlier this month, German diplomats said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/world/europe/ukraine.html?_r=0

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Germany Renews Diplomatic Effort to Ease Ukraine Crisis (Original Post) dipsydoodle May 2014 OP
Engagement is always a better alternative to Jesus Malverde May 2014 #1
Ukraine Separatists Dismantle Barricades in Eastern City of Mariupol bemildred May 2014 #2
Ukraine needs Russia and the West bemildred May 2014 #3
German N-TV Phone Poll Shows 89% Back Putin’s Ukraine Policy bemildred May 2014 #4
Statue Longie May 2014 #5
In Ukraine, Yanukovich opened Pandora’s Box bemildred May 2014 #6
Russia no longer needs to invade Ukraine, analysts say bemildred May 2014 #7
This was The Stalking Horse Plan, which the referendum ballyhoo May 2014 #9
Ukraine crisis: France says allies must share burden of imposing Russian sanctions bemildred May 2014 #8

Jesus Malverde

(10,274 posts)
1. Engagement is always a better alternative to
Tue May 13, 2014, 07:57 AM
May 2014

isolation, recrimination, ethnic slurs, stereotyping and bombastic military rhetoric.

NATO and the neocons at the state department are engaging in classic "passive aggressive" behavior.

When one gets in an argument with anyone it's better to work through the issues than stop talking and act like a victim. That solves nothing other than make one feel superior.

http://coachingpositiveperformance.com/8-examples-passive-aggressive-behaviour/

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
3. Ukraine needs Russia and the West
Tue May 13, 2014, 08:43 AM
May 2014

Violence in Ukraine is spreading. The Ukrainian military and police are splitting apart, a reflection of the fissures in that deeply divided country. Pro-Russian separatists are taking over government buildings and police stations in eastern Ukraine. Pro-government mobs have burned protesters alive. The referenda on self-rule cobbled together by pro-Russian movements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions deepens the divisions. Zealots on both sides could drive the country into a bloody and destructive civil war.

The United States has no direct national security interests at stake in Ukraine, but we do have an interest in a united and functional Ukraine that has stable relations with its European Union neighbors to the west and with Russia to the east. And the United States surely wants to forestall a crisis that could disintegrate into civil war, economic collapse and chaos, possibly destabilizing a weak European economy.

But if the United States is to help stabilize Ukraine and prevent a much larger European crisis, then the American political establishment and much of the mainstream media will need a sober reassessment of reality.

U.S. actions over the past several months have defied common sense. Given the deep divisions in Ukrainian society and the vital interest Russia has in the country, it was a provocative step for the United States to immediately and unconditionally recognize as legitimate the government erected out of violent protests and in violation of the negotiated agreement for a peaceful transition. And it makes no sense to treat Russia’s actions as an existential threat to the post-war international order, given that the West needs Russian cooperation to stabilize Ukraine both politically and financially.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/katrina-vanden-heuvel-ukraine-needs-russia-and-the-west/2014/05/13/1f269790-da19-11e3-bda1-9b46b2066796_story.html

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
4. German N-TV Phone Poll Shows 89% Back Putin’s Ukraine Policy
Tue May 13, 2014, 08:44 AM
May 2014

MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti) – A phone opinion poll conducted by the German TV channel N-TV has yielded a surprise finding that 89 percent of its viewers sympathize with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policy on Ukraine.

A poll on Russia’s handling of the Ukraine crisis by the Berlin-based N-TV went spectacularly wrong in the channel’s opinion, when the majority of its audience said “yes” to the question “Do you have understanding for Putin’s policy?”

The response was indeed so baffling that the poll was wiped off the N-TV home page the same day, but not before some people managed to make screenshots of it, which they posted online.

A screenshot posted on the Facebook page of Christoph Hoerstel from Potsdam shows that 89 percent answered with a resounding “yes,” with the remaining 11 percent responding with a “no.” Respondents could choose only those two options.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140513/189790190/German-N-TV-Phone-Poll-Shows-89-Back-Putins-Ukraine-Policy.html

 

Longie

(10 posts)
5. Statue
Tue May 13, 2014, 08:53 AM
May 2014

It is my understanding that a life-size statue of Victoria Nuland is to be placed in Freedom Square in the heart of Sevastopol.
Longie

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
6. In Ukraine, Yanukovich opened Pandora’s Box
Tue May 13, 2014, 09:20 AM
May 2014

---

In Ukraine, the situation is at a stalemate. The interim government is incapable of dealing with the disorder and solving the country’s economic problems. The “people’s republics” in the east cannot present themselves as responsible actors or as representatives of the majority of the local population. Much mutual hostility exists among the leaders of all factions and there is no common framework agreed to for finding a solution to the country’s problems. Any legislative norms first collapsed under the pressure of revolution and then were replaced by the principle of “if you can do it, so can we.” In such a multi-ethnic country split by cultural and historical differences, such a situation has created a rapid polarization of society. The collapse of the political system has created a power vacuum that is sucking in foreign powers that are acting in their own interests.

---

The European Union is bewildered. It cannot find its natural position in the conflict surrounding Ukraine. Power politics is not part of its profile and in no way can it take an independent position. And even though by the logic of the EU itself, the bloc should put the utmost effort into resolving the Ukrainian crisis, it has lost the initiative. Europe is not ready for such a drastic change. In the post-Cold War years, the Old World became used to a comfortable position in which it did not especially fear Russia and had the opportunity of enjoying the benefits of cooperation. The Kremlin’s actions have shocked Europe, awakening the fear of a repeat of the nightmares of 20th century European history.

The United States is now forced to immerse itself completely in Ukraine. The reason, of course, is not in Ukraine itself, but in the fact that the U.S. has met with tough and uncompromising resistance to its positions for the first time in many years. Washington did not expect such a powerful response from Moscow. As a result, its perspective has changed. Until the events in Ukraine, the U.S. considered Russia a headache, but not a fundamental problem. Now, even if the U.S. does not consider Russia a proper rival, it must at least consider the country a contender for the role.

Washington will not be delving far into Ukraine’s murky internal politics, so its wish for Kiev is a perhaps imperfect but democracy-loving government that rode in to power on a wave of a resistance to tyranny. By using sanctions against Moscow, Washington expects to force a change of course in Russia’s behavior. The chance of this is negligible and the pressure will have to be seriously ramped up to have any effect, which will only lead to a more comprehensive containment. Since Ukraine is just part of a bigger picture of creating a new geopolitical order, the standoff between the U.S. and Russia will only expand.

http://rbth.com/opinion/2014/05/12/in_ukraine_yanukovich_opened_pandoras_box_36583.html

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
7. Russia no longer needs to invade Ukraine, analysts say
Tue May 13, 2014, 09:51 AM
May 2014

European analysts say there is no need for Russia to invade eastern Ukraine now that it has gained ultimate authority over much of the country by its takeover of Crimea and declarations of independence in the pro-Russian east.

"The referendum actually advantages Russia," Keir Giles, analyst at Chatham House's International Security and Russia and Eurasia Program London.

"They do not need to have physical control of these regions to achieve their objective for the Ukraine, which is always has been to render Ukraine ungovernable."

About 90% of voters allegedly backed sovereignty and two regions declared independence Monday, though the vote was impossible to confirm since it was run by the people seeking to secede. The vote in Donetsk even asked to join Russia.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/usatoday/article/9027195

 

ballyhoo

(2,060 posts)
9. This was The Stalking Horse Plan, which the referendum
Tue May 13, 2014, 12:05 PM
May 2014

cemented even though it has been ostensibly tossed aside by Putin. Gazprom becomes an even greater lever.

bemildred

(90,061 posts)
8. Ukraine crisis: France says allies must share burden of imposing Russian sanctions
Tue May 13, 2014, 09:51 AM
May 2014

As the Ukraine crisis continues, France's foreign minister has said other countries must share the burden in imposing sanctions on Russia and that any measures should also include the energy and financial sectors as well as defence.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, speaking in an interview with CNN on Monday night, also suggested France had not ruled out reviewing the sale of warships to Russia – a contract agreed before the crisis in Ukraine broke out.

The United States has been pressing France, Germany and Britain to take a tougher line against Russia to punish Moscow for its annexation of Crimea and to dissuade it from intervening in east Ukraine. Asked if France was on the same page as the United States, Fabius said, "I think so, provided that everybody makes the same sacrifices" – a reference to other nations. "It's not sanctions against Europe, but Russia. Let's not forget that," he said.

The European Union imposed sanctions on Monday on a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the commander of Russian paratroopers, as well as two confiscated Crimean energy companies. But while European Union (EU) powers Germany, France and Britain have all threatened tougher action against Moscow if it undermined the May 25 Ukrainian presidential election, they are hesitant to adopt sanctions that could harm their own interests.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-ukraine-crisis-france-says-allies-must-share-burden-of-imposing-russian-sanctions-1987863

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Germany Renews Diplomatic...