2014-09-02 09:52:00

Pro-Russian separatists reduce demands on Ukraine


(Vatican Radio) Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have softened their demand for full independence in exchange for autonomy, as neighboring Russia tries to prevent more Western sanctions for allegedly supporting the rebels. The rebels made the announcement during peace talks in Belarus after they forced Ukrainian government troops to retreat from a key airport.     

Listen to this report by Stefan Bos.

In a statement the fighters said they are willing to discuss with Kiev "the preservation of the united economic, cultural and political space of Ukraine."

In return they demanded amnesty and broad local powers such as being able to appoint their own local enforcement officials. But the rebels made clear they no longer ask for independence.    

Their remarks at the start of peace talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk marked a shift, reflecting Moscow's desire to strike an internationally-backed deal and avoid more Western sanctions. 

The European Union announced over the weekend that it will prepare new punitive measures while the NATO military alliance is to hold a summit on Thursday to discuss the crisis.  

However a deal would be only for eastern Ukraine as there were no discussions on handing back the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed in March, a move that cost Kiev several ports, half its coastline and potentially billions in revenues from Black Sea oil and mineral rights.    

The West has accused Russia of supporting pro-Russian rebels with troops and tanks, charges Moscow denies. And Monday's talks in Minsk, to be continued Friday, did not yet ease tensions in Ukraine's war torn east. 

Amid heavy fighting, rebels have pushed Ukrainian government forces from an airport near Luhansk, the second-largest rebel-held city. It was the latest in a series of military gains. 

Earlier missiles fired from the shore sunk one of two Ukrainian coast guard vessels on the Azov Sea. Kiev said eight crewmen were rescued, but other reports suggested two crewmen were missing and seven were rescued.     

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told troops the attacks underscore his nation now faces a major threat 

from Russia. 

“Direct and open aggression has been launched against Ukraine from a neighbouring state," he said said at the opening day of a Kiev military academy. 

"That has changed the situation in the conflict zone in a radical way and raises new and more difficult questions for our security bodies.”

He earlier claimed "thousands of foreign troops and hundreds of tanks" are now in Ukraine.  

His statement came amid Western reports that an angry Russian President Vladimir Putin told outgoing European Commission President José Manuel Barroso that he could capture Ukraine's capital Kiev within two weeks.     

Yet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied a Russian invasion was underway. 

"There will be no military intervention," he told students at Moscow State Institute of International Relations."

"We call for an exclusively peaceful settlement of this severe crisis, this tragedy," he added. 

  For those returning to destroyed homes in villages retaken by rebels, the war could not end soon enough. 

The United Nations estimates that some 2,600 people have died and at least 340,000 people displaced in the conflict.    

 








All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.