NATO : Readiness Plan, endorse support package for Ukraine, agreed.

Posted on 25 June 2014 by redaksiyon

As Russian parliament grants Putin’s request, revokes right to use military in Ukraine

Ukrayna’da ilan edilen geçici ateşkes tehlike altında

Rus Ordusu’nun Ukrayna’ya gönderilmesini öngören karar Federasyon Konseyi tarafından iptal edildi

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President Poroshenko’s peace plan is “a major step forward and we fully support it.

NATO Foreign Ministers on Wednesday (25 June 2014) agreed on plans to develop a robust Alliance Readiness Action Plan for the Alliance’s Summit in Wales this September and endorsed a package of support measure to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself. “The Summit comes at a time when security challenges are multiplying beyond our borders,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. “Today we stressed the importance of our collective defence.”

Ministers held talks with their Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin and endorsed a package of additional measures to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself. This includes the creation of new trust funds to support defence capacity building in critical areas such as logistics, command and control, cyber defence and to help retired military personnel to adapt to civilian life. “Ukraine has a clear vision for rebuilding its defence and security sector and a clear strategy for resolving the crisis,” the Secretary General said. He stressed that President Poroshenko’s peace plan is “a major step forward and we fully support it,” and called on Russia to create conditions for the implementation of the peace plan, to end its support for separatist troops, and to stop the flow of weapons and fighters across its border.

Ministers agreed to maintain the suspension of practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia. “There will be no business as usual with Russia until Russia comes back into line with its international obligations,” Mr. Fogh Rasmussen said.

The ministers also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation with partners around the world and strengthen NATO’s ability to assist partners that need help in defence and security sector reforms. The Secretary General said: “we agreed that the Alliance will provide such support more systematically and more swiftly. We will work on ways to create a pool of military and civilian experts who are ready to deploy when needed and to strengthen coordination with other international actors.” Source.

Ukraine is at a key point in its history. And NATO stands by Ukraine at this difficult moment.

We support Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the right of the Ukrainian people to determine their destiny free from outside interference.

The presidential election was an important step on that path. Ukrainians showed their clear commitment to a united, independent and sovereign country. We welcome President Poroshenko’s efforts to stabilise the country. And this meeting is an opportunity to discuss President’s priorities.

NATO and individual Allies have already provided advice, as well as technical and material support.

We have now endorsed a package of additional measures. This includes the establishment of new trust funds to support defence capacity building in key areas such as command and control, and helping retired military personnel to adapt to civilian life. NATO Allies will continue supporting Ukraine in your efforts to build a strong army and to reform the security sector to defend a sovereign, united and democratic Ukraine.

At the same time, NATO remains firm in condemning Russia’s illegal and illegitimate “annexation” of Crimea, which we do not recognize. We continue to call on Russia to complete the withdrawal of its troops on the border with Ukraine, stop the flow of weapons and fighters across the border, and exercise its influence among armed separatists to lay down their weapons and renounce violence. We call on the Russian Federation to meet its Geneva commitments and cooperate with the government of Ukraine as it implements its plans for promoting peace, unity and reform.

With that, I would like to conclude the public part of our session. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Kerry on Ukraine.

Today we spent a significant amount of time in our discussions focused on Ukraine and our allies’ sustained support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and the right of its people to determine their own future. The Ukrainian Government has recently taken a series of important steps to forge a more inclusive society for all Ukrainians, no matter what language they speak or what region the country they live in or what their ethnic background may be. And after a free and fair election, the Ukrainian people celebrated a peaceful transfer of power earlier this month and are now implementing a ceasefire and a peace plan which offers constitutional reform, broad decentralization of power, and local autonomy to Ukraine’s regions and communities.

The United States commends the Ukrainian Government for reaching out to separatists and to the Russian Government. And now we believe it is critical for President Putin to prove by his actions, not just his words, that he is indeed fully committed to peace. It is critical for him to stop the flow of weapons and fighters across the border, to call publicly for the separatists to lay down their arms, to pull Russian forces and equipment back, and to help get OSCE hostages released.

Until Russia fully makes that kind of commitment to the peace process and to the stability of Ukraine, the United States and Europe are compelled to continue to prepare greater costs, including tough economic sanctions, with the hopes that they will not have to be used. But that is dependent on the choices that Russia and its president make in the next days and weeks.

As Secretary General Rasmussen has said, Russia’s recent moves in Ukraine served as a wakeup call. As our economies begin to grow again, a strong NATO requires defense spending by all, and President Obama is committed that the United States will do its part, and he has asked Congress for an additional $1 billion for defense spending in Europe.

As we head to the Wales summit, every ally spending less than 2 percent of their GDP needs to dig deeper and make a concrete commitment to do more. And all you have to do is look at a map in order to understand why – Ukraine, Iraq, Syria – all threats to peace and to security, and they surround the region.

Reaction on Putin’s Decision.

Well, first of all, we are not announcing a new round of sanctions today, but we are going to continue to take steps to prepare in the event that the circumstances on the ground warrant those sanctions. And so we’re coordinating with our European partners in order to prepare for that.

Now, we are delighted that President Putin put to the Duma the retraction of that law which empowered Russia to take action in Ukraine. That’s important. It’s a great step. But it could be reversed in 10 minutes, and everyone knows that. The greatest difference will be made by the president publicly calling for the separatists to lay down their arms, by President Putin engaging his diplomatic service actively in the effort to help empty buildings, helping to get people to disarm, helping to convene the meetings that need to take place in order to negotiate and to move forward.

There are concrete actions – moving forces out, not allowing tanks and rocket launchers to actually cross the border. There are many concrete things that would make a difference, and we intend to work as cooperatively as possible. These aren’t – what we’re trying to do is make a set of concrete suggestions that really make the difference to what is happening on the ground. Yesterday, a helicopter – a Ukrainian helicopter was shot down and nine Ukrainian soldiers were killed. And it was shot down with a Russian weapon, with a MANPAD RPG capacity that took that helicopter out. And so it is – there are concrete steps, and we are prepared to work very, very closely with Russia in an effort to implement those steps.

And likewise, Ukraine also can take steps in a mutual way, and they’re prepared to do that. President Poroshenko obviously has done so by unilaterally putting in place a ceasefire and by taking great political heat himself in doing so. Now’s the time for this moment to really come together, and that is why the allies are talking about preparing sanctions – not implementing them today, but preparing them in the event that this effort were to fail.

The readiness action plan

Well, it certainly (Russian arms buildup ) – that is part of it. But it’s also much broader than that. It’s an effort to recognize that we’re living in a different world. The type of threats that existed in the past are not what played out in Crimea, where you had soldiers who were hiding behind masks and without any identification on them, and a massive public relations campaign simultaneously denying the reality of what everybody was seeing on the ground; where you had this incredible capacity for deception, for denial, which was both a surrogate effort of a government and a linkage to activists, terrorists, and others. John Kerryi Secretary of State – Brussels, Belgium, June 25, 2014
– NATO

European Council
Thursday 26 and Friday 27 June in Ypres and Brussels
Ukraine

The European Council will have an exchange of view with the newly elected Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who will provide his asseement of the situation in Ukraine, before the leaders will continue their discussion over lunch on the basis of the discussions held in the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 June, with the participation of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton. Full text

On Friday, we will first sign at 9.00 the Association Agreements, including Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas, with Georgia and the Republic of Moldova as well as the remainder of the Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with Ukraine.

We will end the working session at 12.50 when President Poroshenko will address briefly the European Council.
Next, we will start our luncheon where the focus will first be on the situation in Ukraine. Invitation letter by President Herman Van Rompuy to the European Council – Full text

Remarks by President Barroso ahead of the European Council

Brussels, 25 June 2014 – Ahead of the European Council that will take place tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I want to briefly touch on a couple of issues of crucial importance.

The European Council will discuss the strategic priorities of the EU for the years to come. I strongly welcome this discussion as all three institutions – Member States, the European Council, the European Parliament and the Commission should have a common understanding of the priorities ahead – namely on the imperative of growth and jobs. I believe that the text that is currently being discussed goes in the right direction – it confirms the approach the Commission has taken in the last years. What we need is to keep that agenda, the agenda for growth and jobs, but with stronger implementation and stronger ownership at all levels of the European Union, from the European institutions to our countries.

The main issue I wish to mention today is a subject of huge strategic importance and something the Commission has worked on tirelessly in recent years.

This Friday we will sign Association Agreements with Georgia and the Republic of Moldova and complete the signature process with Ukraine, each providing for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.

I do not hesitate to call these agreements historic. Historic for those countries, that’s their historic objective, but also historic for Europe, what this can mean for the whole of Europe.

Last November at the end of the Vilnius Summit many were quick in passing judgements on the failure of our Eastern Partnership. I think that as usual they underestimated our commitment to this policy, the determination of our partner countries to move ahead and the willingness of the citizens of these countries to be closely associated with the EU.

That is why this will be a very important moment both for the EU and for those countries.

For Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, this will be a recognition:
• of the significant progress made over recent years and of their strong political determination to come closer to the European Union;
• of their shared outlook on a prosperous economic model;
• and of their desire to live by the European spirit and the European values.

For the EU, these signatures will be a solemn commitment to accompany Georgia the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine each step of the way along the road of transforming their countries into stable, prosperous democracies.

The Agreements, the most ambitious negotiated so far by the European Union, aim to deepen political and economic relations with the EU and to gradually integrate these three countries in the EU’s Internal Market, the largest single market in the world.

These agreements offer opportunities and not ready-made solutions, they are certainly not a panacea. And their success will very much depend on these countries continued will to undertake the reforms that will bring them closer to the European way of life, politically, economically and culturally.

It is also important to recall once more that these Agreements are for something, not against anyone. We are not seeking an exclusive relationship with these three partners. We believe in open societies and open economies.

As you know, I spoke on the 13th of this month with President Putin, precisely reiterating to him my offer to engage in consultations on the implementation of these agreements. In fact, we have agreed on these trilateral consultations. Just before calling President Putin, I was speaking also with President Poroshenko, these consultations will take place in principle on the 11th of July, here in Brussels at ministerial level. The European Commission will be represented by Commissioner for Trade Mr De Gucht.

The signature of the Agreements is the logical outcome of a path started more than 20 years ago when these countries became independent states. We have worked on this matter in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect:
• cooperation because this is the way the European Union works with its neighbours and partners;
• and respect because these three countries are all sovereign and independent nations that have the right to make their own choice concerning their future.

I therefore look forward to this Friday’s signature of the Agreements as a key milestone in the EU cooperation with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

But at the agenda of the European Council will also have Russia’s reaction to these events, in particular in Ukraine. A lot of effort in the last days and hours was put in supporting President Poroshenko’s 15 point peace plan. I spoke with him again on the phone this Monday to praise and encourage his efforts and he conveyed to me a mixed picture of direct talks with Russia but at the same time continuing unrest in the East of Ukraine.

Yesterday President Putin announced he would ask the upper house of the Parliament to repeal a mandate for sending troops to Ukraine. We certainly welcome this step which we had been asking for a long time. In my phone call conversation with him on the 13th that was in fact one of the points we spoke about. But more concrete measures to de-escalate are needed. Failure to act will entail additional measures as the European Council has mentioned before.

In any event we need to pursue our policy of supporting Ukraine. In this respect I am glad that we have rolled out our policy of non-recognition of Crimea’s annexation with a trade ban on Crimean products having been recently adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council following the European Commission proposal. We have also disbursed already 750 million euros in grants and loans to Ukraine and we are preparing for 8th July a meeting of the donors group to coordinate international assistance. This meeting will take place here in Brussels.

We will need to remain active and vigilant regarding our Eastern neighbourhood, in particular after the signature of the Association Agreements where our responsibility increases and not diminishes.

Another very brief point on a matter that is completely different, but that I would like to inform you about.

Just today, I announced that, following the resignation of Vice-President Rehn, Commissioner responsible for economic and monetary affairs and the Euro, and the nomination of Jyrki Katainen as his replacement by the Finish government, I decided to attribute to Jyrki Katainen the responsibilities so far performed by Olli Rehn. On this occasion, I want also to pay my tribute and a very sincere word of thanks to Vice-President Rehn and all the Commissioners that will now leave the Commission because they will join the European Parliament. I want to thank them for their dedication for their competences and for the extraordinary way in which they have performed their duties as members of the Commission.

Putin in Vienna.

Mr President and I have also discussed in detail burning international issues, including – and my colleague has just spoken of this – the dramatic developments in Ukraine. Our views coincide largely, though there are issues that require additional consideration. However, we agree that we should not only talk about the need to stop the bloodshed, but make sure this bloodshed really comes to an end.
Unfortunately, I have the latest reports here saying that fighting is underway now in one of the problem areas, near Slavyansk. Troops have landed there and there are already casualties. This is a tragedy. We must make sure that declarations are supported by actions; otherwise, we will not resolve a single problem of this kind.
At the same time, we certainly support the intention of the Ukrainian authorities and of President Poroshenko not only to declare a truce, but also to achieve results. I agree with Mr President that seven days are clearly not enough, especially given that the purpose should be not simply to stop military action, but to reach agreement between all the conflicting parties.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Mr President and all our partners for their hospitality and for organising our meetings. I will repeat that I am still to meet with Mr Chancellor. However, the agreements we have managed to reach in the course of the first stage of our talks are quite significant. This will undoubtedly serve the cause of resolving complicated conflicts, including the one in Ukraine.
I am grateful to Mr President for voicing his views on all the issues we discussed. Undoubtedly, we will take Austria’s position into consideration in our practical policies.

We feel that Austria has a very measured and objective approach to assessing the situation. And it has very clear suggestions and objective expectations with regard to the development of this conflict. Namely – I have already said this and Mr President just spoke about it – we feel that seven days of ceasefire is not enough.
I told Mr President and can tell you about it, we also said this to the Ukrainian side, including President Poroshenko: declaring a ceasefire is not enough. We must begin substantive talks, as the diplomats say, focusing on the heart of the problem. If we hear or continue to hear that we have seven days and we must disarm within those seven days of ceasefire, but not a single attempt is made during that period to reach a substantive agreement with east Ukraine, then all the efforts will be for nothing and there will be no results.

But if we see that substantive talks have begun, so that people in east Ukraine can finally understand how their legal interests will be guaranteed, then there is a high chance of success. This, in my view, is the key issue today and in the talks that have begun.

I am very pleased and happy to note that yesterday, the first direct contact between authorities in Kiev and representatives from southeast Ukraine in Donetsk and Lugansk occurred. Yesterday, they sat down at the negotiating table for the first time. Yes, it is true that no major agreements were reached, but the fact that the dialogue has begun is, in my view, very important, and certainly a good sign.

It is true that I sent such a letter today to the Federation Council. Why? First of all, the granting of this right and my request for it occurred at a time when the events surrounding Crimea were taking place. I did not rule out the possibility of using the Armed Forces.

As you know, thankfully, we did not use the Armed Forces directly, for any combat operations. Moreover, we did not even increase the presence of our Armed Forces in Crimea above the number provided in the international agreement. And in this regard, the President of Russia did not use the right given to him by the upper chamber of parliament.

Yes, I will not deny, as I have already said, that we used our military units to guarantee the free expression of will by the people of Crimea; we blocked the activities of some Ukrainian army units so that they did not get involved in the process of expression of will, and to ensure there were no victims. But fortunately, Russia’s Armed Forces were not used in Crimea for any military action.

Today we know that, even with disruptions I already spoke about and you just mentioned, but President Poroshenko proposed a ceasefire and expressed readiness for a peace process. In my view – and I have told him so too – the steps taken so far are insufficient for really overcoming the crisis because it is not enough to say: “We are ceasing military action for seven days, and those who do not disarm in seven days will be annihilated.” That is not a path toward peace. But nevertheless, it is an important step in the right direction. We hope that first, the ceasefire will be extended, and second, this time will be used for substantive talks.
To answer your question on what we feel to be the most important part of these talks. The best approach is not to demand disarmament, especially from the eastern part of Ukraine, especially while radical forces such as the “Right Sector” and the like are still not disarmed, although they have talked about it many times and promised that these unlawful formations will lay down their arms. They have not laid down their arms, and they still have not even vacated Maidan. Demanding the militia groups to lay down their arms in these circumstances is, in my view, simply pointless, because they reply, recalling what happened in Odessa: “Today we will lay down our arms, and tomorrow we will all be burned alive.”

But the proposal to call a ceasefire and begin talks is certainly the right one. And we – Russia and myself as the head of the Russian state – want to create the conditions for this peace process. That is why I called on the upper chamber of the Russian parliament to revoke the resolution on the right to use the Armed Forces in Ukraine. But I count on the peace process to develop in the direction of resolving issues concerning the lawful rights of citizens living in the eastern part of Ukraine.

We need to talk about amendments to the fundamental law, about how people will live there and how their rights, which I already spoke about, will be guaranteed.
But the revocation of the resolution on the right to use force does not at all mean that we will not pay attention to what is happening there. Of course, we will always protect ethnic Russians in Ukraine and the part of the Ukrainian population, the Ukrainian people, who feel not just an ethnic but also a cultural connection to Russia, who feel themselves part of the greater Russian community. And in addition to monitoring this carefully, we will also respond accordingly. I hope that the armed forces will not be necessary for this.

First of all, we are not laying down any preliminary conditions during the talks between the authorities from Kiev and east Ukraine, mainly because Russia is not a party to this conflict. I want to stress this.

As for specific further actions, I just basically spoke about this, answering your colleague’s question. We believe, and it is impossible to avoid it, that talks need to be launched on the future structure of Ukraine itself and ensuring the rights, the lawful rights and interests of the people living in southeast Ukraine.

We have talked about this many times, and I simply cannot allow myself to reflect on it too much, but it is clear where the conflict originated. There was a military coup d’état, with one part of the country supporting it and the other opposing it. People in central and western Ukraine took up arms, while people in the east said, “Well, if they can take up arms, why can’t we?” And they too rose in arms to protect their interests. Now they are being told, “You must disarm!” They say, “No. First, let’s disarm those who took up arms first.”

You see, this is a never-ending circle of problems. This circle needs to be broken. And how can that be President Vladimir Putin. – Full text.

Petro Poroshenko had a phone conversation with Angela Merkel

On June 24, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko had a phone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel in the course of which the parties discussed the preparation to the quadripartite conference call at the level of the heads of state in the format initiated in Normandy.
The Federal Chancellor expressed condolences over the downing of the helicopter with 9 Ukrainian servicemen.

Angela Merkel reiterated her support to Petro Poroshenko in his efforts to implement the peace plan. She expressed admiration for the courage of the Ukrainian servicemen and the people of Ukraine “which seeks to settle the conflict peacefully despite numerous human victims”.

In response, Petro Poroshenko assured the Federal Chancellor that successful implementation of the peace plan requires tangible steps forward, among which, inter alia, are the blocking of the border, termination of attacks on the Ukrainian roadblocks, liberation of hostages, involvement of inspectors of the OSCE Mission, including Russian representatives, in the monitoring of the situation on the roadblocks in the nearest days left until the expiration of the ceasefire.

President Poroshenko also called the statement of President Putin regarding the appeal to the Federation Council the first and yet the only positive signal. He expressed hope that the mandate to use the Armed Forces of Russia on Ukrainian soil will be cancelled already on June 25.

The Constitution will be amended – the President initiates radical decentralization of power

Tomorrow, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will register a bill on amendments to the Constitution regarding the decentralization of power that will also be submitted to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. It was stated by Petro Poroshenko in the course of his speech at the Day of dialogue between representatives of local government and the state government.

“We are willing to change the local government which is the closest one to people by providing it with real powers that have never been known by the local government system in the history of Ukraine before,” the Head of State emphasized.
“It is a key element of the President’s peace plan. These are the issues with which we will come to the Donbas,” Petro Poroshenko added.

The Head of State noted that the draft law on amendments to the Basic Law provides for the elimination of regional and district state administrations and introduction of the posts of Presidential representatives. Also, it provides for the establishment of executive committees of local councils to which the main functions of local power will be delegated.
“Significant part of taxes collected on the territory of the local government body will remain there,” Petro Poroshenko said.

The Head of State stressed that decentralization also provides for the expansion of authorities of local communities, particularly, in the issues of historical memory, cultural traditions and language policy.
“Still, the only state language of Ukraine was, is and will be Ukrainian language,” the President noted.

The Head of State expressed hope that the following week, the Verkhovna Rada would be able to approve in the first reading the draft law on amendments to the Constitution.

Head of State is confident in qualitative implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU

In the course of his speech at the Day of dialogue between representatives of local government and the state government, Petro Poroshenko emphasized that on June 27, in Brussels, in the presence of 28 heads of state and Governments of the EU countries, the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU will be signed.

“This is what we’ve been fighting for since the year 2007, when the concept of associate membership has been determined for the first time. The first and an extremely important phase is finished and the new one is about to begin,” the Head of State noted.

The President reminded that after the signature of the Association Agreement with the EU, Ukraine will have to work over the implementation and adaptation of national legislation to the requirements and standards of the European Union. “This work is in no way easier or less responsible but I am confident that we will carry it out qualitatively,” the President said.

Consultations in Donetsk the first step to a real dialogue

Consultations of trilateral contact group held in Donetsk are the first step towards peaceful dialogue on the settlement of the situation in the East of Ukraine. It was stated by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in his speech at the Day of dialogue between representatives of local government and the state government.
“I know that the fact of such consultations has been perceived controversially by the public.

The so-called “hawks” demand rapid and severe military actions. Others demand large-scale compromises to avoid war. I will answer both parties: our goal is not war. It is not Ukraine who started it. Our goal is peace. But I would like to emphasize: peace not for any price and under any conditions,” the President emphasized.
“The peace plan received support of all international organizations and heads of state,” Petro Poroshenko also said.

The Head of State reminded that he had to make a difficult decision on unilateral ceasefire by Ukraine.

“Dialogue on the implementation of the President’s plan on peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas has begun. I would like to recall that this plan consists of 15 steps and provides for immediate and absolute demilitarization of the conflict and restoration of control over the Ukrainian-Russian border,” the President noted.

Petro Poroshenko stressed that restoration of functioning of local government in Donbas and central television and radio broadcasting in Donetsk and Luhansk regions is among the top-priority measures on the implementation of the peace plan.

The President emphasized that the EU countries and the United States will be involved into the program of creating new jobs in Donbas.

“It is a principled position that at the cost of the fund, the housing and industrial premises damaged in the course of the military actions will be repaired for people to have a place to live, return and work,” Petro Poroshenko said. Source. Source.

The Situation in Ukraine

Time and again – at least 17 times since February – we have gathered here to discuss the situation in Ukraine. And time and again, we’ve had to dedicate significant amounts of time to reviewing the efforts of Russia to destabilize its neighbor and to refuting the bald misinformation and outright fiction about what is happening on the ground in Ukraine.

Russian rhetoric has been inaccurate, inflammatory and self-justifying. On June 17, just last week, Foreign Minister Lavrov accused Ukrainian military authorities of carrying out “ethnic cleansing.” Days earlier, a leader in the Duma accused Ukraine of committing “mass genocide.”

My government, this Council, and the United Nations take extremely seriously any reports of ethnic cleansing or genocide. But baseless claims like this have the effect of radicalizing Russian separatists, escalating this horrible crisis and further eviscerating the credibility of Russian reports from the region.

We should consider such claims alongside the facts on the ground, such as the situation of the ethnic Tatar community in Crimea following Russia’s purported annexation, which the international community will never recognize. The homes of Tatar leaders have been arbitrarily searched, and editors of its main newspaper threatened with prosecution. Tatars who have participated in peaceful protests have been locked up by the dozens, and many more insulted and harassed for speaking their language in public. And its members have been told that they – and all Crimeans – must give up their Ukrainian citizenship, or else be treated like foreigners in their own land.

Meanwhile, in areas controlled by illegal separatist groups in southeast Ukraine, we continue to see Russia’s extensive support for the campaign of violence and separatist terror.
The crimes committed by these groups are methodically documented in the UN Monitoring Mission’s reports, and follow a pattern set by Russia’s unlawful intervention in Crimea. They include the violent seizure and occupation of public and government buildings; unprovoked, lethal attacks against Ukrainian security forces; and arbitrary arrests, torture, beatings, death threats, disappearances, killings, and other serious abuses carried out by Russian fighters and the pro-Russian separatists.

We don’t need to look very far or very hard to find evidence of this campaign. We see it in the three T-64 Russian tanks which suddenly showed up in the hands of separatists in Eastern Ukraine. We see it in the burnt out BM-21 rocket launcher – one of many that suddenly appeared in Eastern Ukraine in the past weeks – which photographs shows recently belonged to Russia’s 18th Motorized Rifle Brigade, based in Chechnya. We see it in surface-to-air missiles that were recently seized by Ukrainian forces after a clash with separatists. They were still accompanied by their official paperwork, revealing that – as recently as two months ago – these missiles were held on a Russian Air Defense Base in the Krasnodar region. These are just the type of surface-to-air missiles, I would note, that were used to bring down a Ukrainian military transport plane last week, killing all 49 people onboard. And we see it in the alarming redeployment of thousands of Russian troops and military hardware along the border with Ukraine – at the closest proximity, since the invasion of Crimea in February.

Russia has attempted, erroneously, to characterize the events unfolding in eastern Ukraine as a humanitarian crisis. They falsely have cast themselves as the defender of rights and vindicator of the vulnerable; and the Russian army and its operatives as a humanitarian aid agency. But this Russian “aid” operation sends soldiers, not doctors; it mans armored personnel carriers, not relief tents; it provides surface-to-air missiles, not meals-ready-to-eat.

Russia claims that 100,000 people have fled Ukraine for Russia. Yet, Under-Secretary-General Amos informed this Council in a briefing last week, that the real number is around 4,600.

I do not for one moment intend to minimize the very real humanitarian consequences of the crises in Eastern Ukraine and Crimea, including the tens of thousands of internally displaced people within Ukraine’s borders. But we have to be objective and fact-based in our claims and candid about what has brought about these dire humanitarian consequences: namely, the political and military support that Russia continues to provide to armed, violent separatists.

And yet, remarkably, even in the face of separatist attacks and inflammatory propaganda, the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian people have shown in word and in deed a sustained willingness to work toward a peaceful solution.

The Ukrainian people elected a leader – Petro Poroshenko – who campaigned on creating a democratic, unified, and peaceful Ukraine. And since taking office, President Poroshenko has persistently sought to achieve this goal through dialogue and reconciliation – even in the face of provocations and violence. He proposed, and then implemented a unilateral ceasefire to allow separatists to lay down their arms; he offered to create a safe passage for Russian fighters to return to their country; and he proposed amnesty to Russian-backed separatists who have not committed serious crimes. We welcome yesterday’s reports that representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian governments and separatist groups met together, leading to an announcement by some separatist leaders that they would respect the ceasefire. President Poroshenko and his government have taken steps to decentralize power, increase transparency, combat corruption, and protect the rights of minorities. And he has put on the table a comprehensive and just peace plan. In sum, he and the Ukrainian people have done everything that could be expected in an effort to make peace in accordance with international law and norms.

Over the last few days, we have seen more contradictory behavior on the part of Russia. On the one hand, President Putin expresses his support for President Poroshenko’s ceasefire and his intention to work towards a peaceful settlement. That is a welcomed development.
Yet, on the other hand, Russia has recently returned a significant number of its troops to the border, and has ramped up the flow of weapons and materiel to separatists, an increasing number of whom are Russian citizens with no personal connection to eastern Ukraine. President Putin has also placed Russian troops on combat alert and launched a new surprise military exercise.

President Putin’s recent statements are welcome. But it’s hard to take a little rhetoric of reconciliation seriously when it is accompanied by actions that are clearly aimed at stoking tension. And it is even harder to take seriously given that Russia’s track record of repeatedly breaking its commitments to dialogue and to peace – as it did after the Geneva Statement in April, and after the pledges that President Putin made to President Obama in Normandy earlier this month.

So while we welcome the more conciliatory rhetoric from President Putin in recent days, these words now need to be reflected in a genuine shift in the facts on the ground. And those facts are best gathered by unbiased reporting, like that conducted by international monitoring missions. But the Russians, and the armed separatists that they support, don’t seem comfortable with facts or with monitors. As we sit here, eight OSCE monitors are being held captive for the crime of bearing witness and gathering facts – actions that are dangerous only to those who would distort those facts. These monitors have been held captive for nearly a month – a month! – by separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk, with no justification. For these crimes, there must be consequences.

There also must be continued consequences for Russia’s consistent violations of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and for its ongoing failure to meet the commitments it has made. And there must be consequences for the widespread crimes and abuses committed by the armed separatists Russia supports. Both because the victims of these crimes merit justice; and because, as we have seen, unless Russia feels effective pressure to de-escalate, it will continue to choose to escalate this crisis.

We have urged Russia to be part of the political solution to the crisis in Ukraine. But if it persists with the same escalatory tactics – it must face additional costs. Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations

Why Defense Matters: A New Narrative for NATO

by Judy Dempsey – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is in search of a new narrative. While Russia’s involvement in Eastern Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea will not give NATO a new sense of solidarity, these events have highlighted what the alliance and its members must urgently do. It is time for all NATO countries to engage in a real strategic debate about why defense matters and what members should do to uphold the transatlantic relationship.

A Disjointed Alliance

· Alliance countries face many threats apart from Russia, including terrorism, cyberattacks, instability south of the Mediterranean and in the Sahel in particular, Iran’s nuclear program, and China’s strategic ambitions. NATO has no strategies to deal with them.

· NATO countries perceive threats differently, which weakens alliance solidarity and purpose, putting NATO at risk of becoming a toolbox for coalitions of the willing.

· NATO members’ defense spending is declining, but there is no political will to pool and share military capabilities.

· Washington will not reverse its strategic shift to Asia and refocus on Europe despite the Ukraine crisis, but NATO is unprepared to deal with America’s new priorities.

· NATO members refuse to explain to their publics why defense matters, making it difficult to drum up support for the alliance. Full Analysis.

The Ultimate Eurasian Dilemma (II)

Conventional (forceful) regime change strategies (Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq) were possible in a unipolar world, but with the unipolar moment fading, the US has been compelled to revive the Lead From Behind template first flirted with during the Soviet-Afghan War. The first official indication that the US was moving towards this strategy was its behavior during the 2011 Libyan War, the first-ever use of the Lead From Behind moniker. This was followed by then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ final speech that summer, in which he implored NATO allies to do more to assist the US in tackling global challenges. It thus became clear that the US was no longer as enthusiastic about “going it alone” as it had been before, nor does it seem willing to pose the ultimatum of “you are either with us or against us.”

The indication that American power is relatively slipping vis-à-vis the other Great Powers was formally seconded by the National Intelligence Council in late 2012. In its “Global Trends 2030” publication, it writes about how the US will be “first among equals” because “the ‘unipolar moment’ is over, and ‘Pax Americana’ — the era of American ascendancy in international politics that began in 1945 — is fast winding down.” Clearly, under such a competitive environment, aggressive unilateralism will be more difficult to deploy without risking collateral consequences. This further gave an added impulse to the Lead Form Behind strategy’s implementation into mainstream American military planning.

Finally, President Obama institutionalized the Lead From Behind template when he spoke at West Point at the end of May. In his speech, he notable said that “America must lead on the world stage… but U.S. military action cannot be the only — or even primary — component of our leadership in every instance. Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.” This has been interpreted as the US formally abandoning the unilateral ‘go it alone’ doctrine except under exceptional circumstances. At this point, it is evident that the US has definitively displayed its intention to trade the world policeman post for the Lead From Behind mastermind mantle. Further illustrating this point, the theater-wide social and political transformation that the US envisioned with the Arab Spring could not have succeeded with unilateral action. Therefore, the year 2011 represents the official end of the unipolar moment and the beginning of the Lead From Behind era, which is in and of itself the US military’s adaptation to a multipolar world. Full Text of Part II

— Part I

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