UCRÂNIA - EUA E RÚSSIA RETOMAM CONTACTO Escreve o New York Times: In a diplomatic success, pro-Russia militants freed the European military observers who had been held — four Germans, a Czech, a Dane and a Pole. Their release followed the arrival of a Kremlin envoy, Vladimir P. Lukin. Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, said that Mr. Lukin had secured the release. The German-led team had been detained April 25 while working, at the Ukrainian military’s invitation, to assess security conditions in eastern Ukraine. The mission was part of a process approved by the 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to which Russia, Ukraine and the United States belong. Germany is seen as a central party in trying to resolve the crisis, and Mr. Putin, who values relations with Germany, had spoken of the need to release the observers. There were indications on Saturday that the United States and Russia might be willing to try again to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Last month the two countries, with Ukraine and the European Union, reached an accord in Geneva to try to defuse the crisis, but the United States has accused Russia of not following through and using its influence to help clear pro-Russian militants from public buildings in several towns in the east. Russia, meanwhile, had declared that the Ukrainian government offensive, and the violence in Odessa, had effectively torpedoed the Geneva accord. But in a phone call Saturday, Mr. Kerry and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, discussed “how to find a way forward,” Mr. Kerry told reporters Saturday while traveling in Africa. Specifically, Mr. Kerry said they had discussed how the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe might “play a larger role in perhaps facilitating the de-escalation.” Mr. Lavrov, for his part, suggested the O.S.C.E. might play a mediating role within Ukraine. It appeared that Russia hoped that the O.S.C.E. might become the vehicle to push Kiev to implement that steps the Kremlin wanted from the beginning, namely wide regional autonomy. The interim Ukrainian government, with American support, has resisted such a step. Still, Mr. Kerry’s comments on Saturday reflected a shift in tone. In an appearance at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday, he had complained that Russia had taken “not one single step” to carry out the Geneva agreement.
Posted on: Sun, 04 May 2014 23:40:38 +0000