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U.S. Effort to Broker Russia-Ukraine Diplomacy Fails U.S. Effort to Broker Russia-Ukraine Diplomacy Fails
(about 4 hours later)
PARIS — An effort by the United States to broker the first face-to-face diplomatic meeting between Russia and Ukraine over the Crimea confrontation failed on Wednesday, but both Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart said there would be more discussions in the days ahead. Their remarks left open the possibility of progress toward a solution to de-escalate an East-West crisis reminiscent of the Cold War. PARIS — An effort by the United States to broker the first face-to-face diplomatic meeting between Russia and Ukraine over the Crimea crisis failed on Wednesday, but Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart announced more discussions in the days ahead.
Mr. Kerry and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, spoke separately to reporters after a meeting at France’s Foreign Ministry, which Mr. Lavrov called “a long day of discussions on Ukraine.” But American efforts to arrange a direct meeting between Mr. Lavrov and the acting Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Deschchytsia — who was in the same building but not the same room — did not happen, reflecting the tensions over Russia’s refusal to recognize the interim government in Kiev. Their remarks left open the possibility of progress toward a solution to de-escalate one of the most serious East-West confrontations since the Cold War.
Mr. Lavrov told reporters that he and Mr. Kerry had agreed to continue discussions in the coming days to come “to see how best we can help stabilize, normalize the situation and overcome the crisis. The discussions will continue and that’s it.” But while Mr. Kerry asserted Wednesday night that his deliberations here had yielded creative ideas and planned to resume talks with the Russian foreign minister in Rome on Thursday, there were also signs of how acute the crisis remained.
Asked if he had met his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr. Lavrov said: “Who is it? I didn’t see anyone.” Mr. Deschchytsia, asked by reporters why he and Mr. Lavrov had not met, said: “Ask Lavrov.” In Crimea, unidentified armed men threatened the United Nations special envoy, Robert Serry, forcing him to leave the region by plane. And the Pentagon took its first military steps since the crisis erupted to reassure Eastern European NATO members by announcing that six American F-15 fighters and one KC-135 refueling plane would be sent to reinforce the four American F-15s that currently police the airspace of Baltic nations. A program to carry out joint training with Poland’s air force will also be expanded, the Pentagon said.
Later at a news conference held at the American ambassador’s residence, Mr. Kerry sought to play down the failure of the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers to meet here, even though American officials confirmed that is still the goal. The moves follow Poland’s request that NATO hold emergency discussions on the crisis under Article 4 of the alliance’s treaty, which provides for consultations if a member feels threatened.
“I had no expectation that today that kind of a meeting would take place,” Mr. Kerry said. In Washington, President Obama consulted further with allies, speaking by telephone to Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, whose government has resisted any trade sanctions against Russia. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. called with reassurances to President Andris Berzins of Latvia, one of the Baltic states unnerved by Moscow’s military occupation of the Crimean Peninsula.
He also said that new ideas for resolving the crisis had been put on the table and that he would be consulting with President Obama about the ideas while Mr. Lavrov consulted with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Further discussions on Ukraine, Mr. Kerry said, would be held in the days ahead. In a blunt move, the State Department issued a list of 10 claims by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that it called false, rebutting each. The statement rejected Mr. Putin’s assertions that Ukraine’s new government was illegitimate, ethnic Russians in Crimea were under threat and Russian forces were acting to protect Russian military assets.
“I would rather be where we are today than were we were yesterday,” Mr. Kerry said. In Paris, Mr. Kerry’s emphasis was on diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis and bring Russian diplomats together with representatives of the new Ukrainian government.
He reiterated the West’s demands that Russia pull back its forces from the Crimean Peninsula, the heavily Russian-populated region in southern Ukraine where the Kremlin seized control this past weekend. On Wednesday morning, Mr. Kerry and his British and Ukrainian counterparts met on the 1994 Budapest memorandum, an agreement signed by Russia, the United States and Britain obliging them to refrain from the “threat and use of force,” or “economic coercion” against Ukraine, which also signed the agreement and agreed to give up the nuclear weapons inherited after the Soviet Union’s breakup.
Earlier on Wednesday Mr. Kerry said that he regretted that Russia had not attended a morning meeting on Ukraine that was held by the United States, Britain and Ukraine at the American ambassador’s residence. Mr. Kerry said he regretted that Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, had not attended. William Hague, the British foreign secretary, said the group would make “every diplomatic effort today to bring Russia and Ukraine in direct contact at the ministerial level.”
And William Hague, the British foreign secretary, said Wednesday morning that the group would try to “create other opportunities later today” for the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers to meet. Andrii Deshchytsia, Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, who flew to Paris Tuesday night on Mr. Kerry’s plane, said at the session that he was prepared to have “consultations with Russia, bilaterally and multilaterally.”
The swirl of frenetic diplomacy came as the European Union added a significant financial underpinning to the struggling Ukraine government in the midst of the crisis with Russia over Ukraine’s future, offering aid worth as much as $15 billion over the next two years. After Mr. Kerry met with Mr. Lavrov later that day at the Russian ambassador’s residence, the two diplomats went to the French Foreign Ministry for further discussions on the crisis with European envoys. Mr. Deshchytsia, who Ukrainian officials said had left for the airport only to be called back, arrived at the ministry soon afterward.
The offer came atop $1 billion in American loan guarantees to ease Ukraine’s economic transition, announced by Mr. Kerry on Tuesday in Kiev, where he was visiting to reassure the interim Ukraine government and challenge Russia. Mr. Kerry and Mr. Deschchytsia then flew to Paris together. But a direct meeting between Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Deschchytsia, who was in the same building but not the same room, did not happen.
Russia regards the interim government in Kiev, which took power after President Viktor F. Yanukovych fled last month, as illegitimate. The failure reflected the tensions over Russia’s refusal to recognize the interim government in Kiev that replaced President Viktor F. Yanukovych, who fled last month but is regarded by Russia as Ukraine’s rightful leader .
The standoff in Crimea, and the larger struggle over Ukraine, the former Soviet republic that is deeply intertwined with Russia economically, are at the heart of these diplomatic and financial maneuvers. Asked if he had met his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr. Lavrov said: “Who is it? I didn’t see anyone.” Mr. Deschchytsia, asked by reporters why he and Mr. Lavrov had not met, said, “Ask Lavrov.”
The Russians have defended their actions in Crimea as a response to a request for aid from local citizens and from the Mr. Yanukovych, the ousted president. The Russians say that Mr. Yanukovych, for all his faults, remains the legitimate president of Ukraine, while the Americans say that Mr. Yanukovych, by fleeing to Russia, lost his legitimacy and opened the way to a new interim government ratified by Parliament. Later at a news conference held at the American ambassador’s residence, Mr. Kerry sought to play down the failure. “I had no expectation, zero expectation, that today that kind of a meeting would take place,” said Mr. Kerry, who affirmed that arranging such a meeting was still a goal.
The offers of loans are crucial, because Ukraine is in dire economic shape, with a promised Russian loan of $15 billion in abeyance since the ouster of Mr. Yanukovych and Russia’s decision on Tuesday to cancel a large discount on natural gas supplies to Ukraine starting on April 1. The frenetic diplomacy came as the European Union added a significant financial underpinning to the struggling Ukrainian government in the middle of the crisis with Russia over Ukraine’s future, offering aid worth as much as $15 billion over the next two years.
Ukrainian officials have said that they need $35 billion in new loans and credits over the next two years to avoid default. The offer came atop $1 billion in American loan guarantees to ease Ukraine’s economic transition, announced by Mr. Kerry on Tuesday in Kiev, where he was visiting to reassure the interim Ukrainian government and challenge Russia.
A team from the International Monetary Fund is in Kiev to study the books and consider a stabilization loan. The fund is expected to demand difficult changes, including the reduction of lavish subsidies on gas prices, so the American and European money is intended in part to help cushion the blow to Ukrainian voters before new elections in May. The offers of loans are crucial because Ukraine is in dire economic shape, with a promised Russian loan of $15 billion in abeyance since the ouster of Mr. Yanukovych, and with Russia’s decision to cancel a large discount on gas supplies to Ukraine starting April 1.
The American and European offers are also intended to answer political criticism in Washington and some European countries that the West is not doing enough to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. Ukrainian officials have said they need $35 billion in new loans and credits over the next two years to avoid default.
European Union leaders will meet on Thursday in Brussels to consider sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine. The loan announcement on Wednesday came from José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, the union’s executive arm. He said that the offer of 11 billion euros “over the next couple of years” included 1.6 billion euros, or about $2.2 billion, in loans and 1.4 billion euros in grants, as well as 3 billion euros in new credit from the European Investment Bank through 2016. A team from the International Monetary Fund was in Kiev to study the books and consider a loan. The fund is expected to demand difficult changes, including the reduction of lavish subsidies on gas prices, so the American and European money is intended in part to help cushion the blow to Ukrainian voters before new elections in May.
He also promised efforts with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, where the European Union is a majority shareholder, to free up another 5 billion euros and said the European Commission would mobilize 250 million euros to leverage as much as 3.5 billion euros in loans from investment projects. The American and European offers are also intended to answer political criticism in Washington and some European countries that the West is not doing enough to support Ukraine in the face of Russian threats.
But Mr. Barroso was vague on the details, indicating a rapid effort to come up with an offer that could come close to matching the original Russian one. He said he would discuss details on Thursday with Ukraine’s interim prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, who will be attending the emergency summit of leaders. European Union leaders will meet on Thursday in Brussels to consider sanctions against Russia. The loan announcement on Wednesday came from José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, the union’s executive arm. He said the offer of 11 billion euros, or $15 billion, “over the next couple of years” included €1.6 billion, or about $2.2 billion, in loans and €1.4 billion in grants, as well as €3 billion in new credit from the European Investment Bank through 2016.
The European Union also announced in a statement that it is freezing the financial assets in Europe of 18 people held responsible of misusing state funds in Ukraine. The identity of those targeted was withheld pending the official publication in the EU’s legal journal Thursday, at which point the sanctions will be effective for the coming 12 months. He also promised efforts with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, where the European Union is a majority shareholder, to free up €5 billion, and other steps to grant €3.5 billion in loans.
In Kiev, Mr. Yatsenyuk said that Russia’s deployment of forces is having an “extremely negative” impact on the country’s already shaky economy. But Mr. Barroso was vague on the details, indicating a rapid effort to come up with an offer that could come close to matching the original Russian one. He said he would discuss details on Thursday with Ukraine’s interim prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, who will be attending the emergency summit meeting of leaders.
“The Russian aggression on Ukraine’s territory is having political and economic consequences,” he said in remarks broadcast on television at the start of a government meeting. “The presence of the Russian military on Ukraine’s territory is having an extremely negative effect on Ukraine’s economy.” The European Union also announced that it was freezing the financial assets in Europe of 18 people held responsible of misusing state funds in Ukraine. Their identities were withheld pending the official publication in the union’s legal journal on Thursday.
But there is no indication that Russia has any intention of releasing its grip on Crimea, the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and an important southern port for the Russian military. Russian troops in Crimea, still in uniforms without insignia, continue to surround all key Ukrainian military facilities. Most of the Ukrainians have resisted calls to hand over their weapons and leave their bases, where they are effectively imprisoned. In Kiev, Mr. Yatsenyuk said that Russia’s deployment of forces was having an “extremely negative” impact on the country’s shaky economy.
In Crimea on Wednesday, 10 to 15 unidentified armed men threatened the United Nations special envoy, Robert Serry, as he departed a meeting at a naval facility, ordering him to go to the airport and leave the peninsula, the deputy secretary-general, Jan Eliasson, told reporters by telephone. Mr. Serry later left by plane. But Russia signaled no intention to release its grip on Crimea, headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Russian troops there, in uniforms without insignia, continued to surround major Ukrainian military facilities. Most of the Ukrainians have resisted calls to surrender weapons and leave their bases, where they are effectively imprisoned.
There were other reports on Wednesday that Russian troops had seized part of a Ukrainian missile defense unit in Yevpatoria, on the western coast of Crimea, but a local spokesman for Ukraine’s Defense Ministry told news agencies that the command post and control center of the base remain under Ukrainian control. In Paris, Mr. Kerry sought to accent the positive. “I personally feel as if I have something concrete to take back and talk to President Obama about so that I can get his input and thinking, advice, on what he’s prepared to do,” he said. “And I believe that Foreign Minister Lavrov is in exactly the same position with respect to President Putin.”
In the north of the Crimean Peninsula on the isthmus near the Ukrainian mainland, northwest of Armyansk, Russian troops with 10 large trucks have set up a roadblock and are checking documents and cars. Two Russian flags fly over the roadblock and journalists are being told to keep away.
In Donetsk, in the east of the country, where Russian speakers predominate, pro-Kremlin demonstrators calling for greater independence from Kiev overcame riot police and poured into the regional administration building on Wednesday evening, retaking the building for a second time this week in a persistent tug-of-war with local police. Later in the evening, rival demonstrations in Donetsk between pro-Moscow and pro-Kiev groups erupted into brawls that left several people injured.
Mr. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, did not attend a meeting in Paris on Ukraine’s security called by signatories to the Budapest Memorandum, a treaty that was signed after Ukraine agreed in 1994 to give up the nuclear weapons it inherited from the Soviet Union. The accord, formed by the United States, United Kingdom and Russia, was designed to provide Ukraine a kind of reassurance about security, but no guarantee.
Mr. Lavrov’s attendance would have provided an opportunity for the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers to talk directly, a dialogue that the Ukrainian side said on Wednesday it is now ready for and which Britain and the United States had been trying to facilitate.
As the session began, Mr. Kerry sat at a U-shaped table along with Mr. Hague, the British foreign secretary, Mr. Deschchytsia, the acting Ukrainian foreign minister. There was not an empty chair set aside for Mr. Lavrov, but there might as well have been. “Regrettably,” Mr. Kerry said at the start of the session, the group was “missing one member.”
“We will make every diplomatic effort today to bring Russia and Ukraine in direct contact at the ministerial level,” Mr. Hague added. “We will try to create other opportunities later today.”
Significantly, Mr. Deschchytsia said he was prepared to have “consultations with Russia, bilaterally and multilaterally.”
The French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said that European Union leaders holding a crisis meeting on Ukraine on Thursday could impose sanctions on Russia if there was no “de-escalation” by then, echoing earlier comments on Tuesday by the Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski. Mr. Fabius told French television that measures could include restrictions on visas, on the assets of individuals and a review of existing discussions on economic ties with Russia.
Germany has been pressing for dialogue, both directly with Russia and through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the 57-member group of which both Ukraine and Russia are members. Mr. Fabius said that France had jointly elaborated a “crisis exit” plan with Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel has been more reticent than French officials in publicly raising the threat of sanctions on Russia.
The O.S.C.E. announced that at Ukraine’s request it had sent a team of 35 unarmed military personnel to Crimea to investigate and assess the situation there. “They will not be contented with assurances that these people are volunteers, who bought their uniforms in a shop,” Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said. The hope is to learn “who is in power there and conclusions the O.S.C.E. should draw from that.”
In an awkward bit of timing, just as European leaders are considering sanctions on Russia, a French shipbuilder announced the test sail of a military ship France agreed to sell Russia in 2011. The sale was controversial at the time and involves a transport warship that would improve Russia’s ability to deploy troops, tanks and helicopters. France says it has no intention of scrapping existing defense contracts.