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| Ukrainian tycoon’s calls for rallies against separatists go largely unheeded | Ukrainian tycoon’s calls for rallies against separatists go largely unheeded |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Calls by eastern Ukraine’s richest man for demonstrations against Russian-backed separatists met with a mixed response Tuesday as many workers stayed on their jobs. | MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Calls by eastern Ukraine’s richest man for demonstrations against Russian-backed separatists met with a mixed response Tuesday as many workers stayed on their jobs. |
| Billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, whose coal mines, steel plants and other factories are the industrial might of the Donets Basin in eastern Ukraine, had called on all of his 300,000 employees to take part in the rallies against a separatist movement that the tycoon warns is endangering the region’s economy. | Billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, whose coal mines, steel plants and other factories are the industrial might of the Donets Basin in eastern Ukraine, had called on all of his 300,000 employees to take part in the rallies against a separatist movement that the tycoon warns is endangering the region’s economy. |
| At the entrance to Akhemtov’s Iliych steel plant in Mariupol, an industrial port city in southeastern Ukraine, bystanders and workers said nobody emerged when the factory sirens wailed at noon, the time for the demonstration. | At the entrance to Akhemtov’s Iliych steel plant in Mariupol, an industrial port city in southeastern Ukraine, bystanders and workers said nobody emerged when the factory sirens wailed at noon, the time for the demonstration. |
| “You see for yourself,” said a bus driver in a red and gray uniform of Akhmetov’s Metinvest company as he took a break minutes after the siren sounded. The entrance had only the usual traffic of people and vehicles. “The main thing is, nobody’s shooting.” Akhmetov said he suspended a similar rally Monday after he learned that unidentified gunmen had planned to shoot anyone who took part. | “You see for yourself,” said a bus driver in a red and gray uniform of Akhmetov’s Metinvest company as he took a break minutes after the siren sounded. The entrance had only the usual traffic of people and vehicles. “The main thing is, nobody’s shooting.” Akhmetov said he suspended a similar rally Monday after he learned that unidentified gunmen had planned to shoot anyone who took part. |
| The 53-year-old driver, who said he has been working for the steel maker for 30 years and identified himself only as Nikolai for fear of losing his job and his pension, is one of many in the region who feel caught in the middle of a sometimes violent struggle between the three-month-old pro-Western government in Kiev and separatists who want to make eastern Ukraine part of neighboring Russia. Nikolai said he did not support Akhmetov or the steel magnate’s call for protests because he blames Akhmetov and other oligarchs for dividing Ukraine no less than the separatists. | The 53-year-old driver, who said he has been working for the steel maker for 30 years and identified himself only as Nikolai for fear of losing his job and his pension, is one of many in the region who feel caught in the middle of a sometimes violent struggle between the three-month-old pro-Western government in Kiev and separatists who want to make eastern Ukraine part of neighboring Russia. Nikolai said he did not support Akhmetov or the steel magnate’s call for protests because he blames Akhmetov and other oligarchs for dividing Ukraine no less than the separatists. |
| He said he has no interest in seeing Donbas, as the Donets Basin is known, split off to join Russia. He said he declined to vote in a chaotic May 11 referendum called by the separatists to endorse self-rule. He said he also supports many of the separatists’ grievances against the interim government in Kiev. | He said he has no interest in seeing Donbas, as the Donets Basin is known, split off to join Russia. He said he declined to vote in a chaotic May 11 referendum called by the separatists to endorse self-rule. He said he also supports many of the separatists’ grievances against the interim government in Kiev. |
| Alexei Primenko, 63, who works as a locksmith in the steel plant’s main office, shrugged off the demonstration. | Alexei Primenko, 63, who works as a locksmith in the steel plant’s main office, shrugged off the demonstration. |
| “What’s the demonstration going to give me?” Primenko asked. He said he and most workers would treat Akhmetov’s calls for pro-Ukrainian support with polite applause, as they feel it necessary to pay lip service to a cause backed by the man who pays their salaries. But he said their hearts are not in it. | “What’s the demonstration going to give me?” Primenko asked. He said he and most workers would treat Akhmetov’s calls for pro-Ukrainian support with polite applause, as they feel it necessary to pay lip service to a cause backed by the man who pays their salaries. But he said their hearts are not in it. |
| Denis Pushilin, a leader of the separatists’ self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, tweeted that they would begin nationalizing the properties of “regional oligarchs.” He did not mention Akhmetov by name, but in a followup tweet, Pushilin made it clear he was talking about the tycoon. | Denis Pushilin, a leader of the separatists’ self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, tweeted that they would begin nationalizing the properties of “regional oligarchs.” He did not mention Akhmetov by name, but in a followup tweet, Pushilin made it clear he was talking about the tycoon. |
| “Akhmetov made his choice,” the rebel leader said. “Unfortunately, it is a choice against the people of Donbas.” | |
| Akhmetov appears to be using any available asset in his vast empire to oppose the separatist movement. Last week, he called his workers out to help police keep order. | Akhmetov appears to be using any available asset in his vast empire to oppose the separatist movement. Last week, he called his workers out to help police keep order. |
| In Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its units in the western regions bordering Ukraine were preparing to return to their home bases — dismantling tents, loading equipment — in line with President Vladimir Putin’s order Monday. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance has seen no signs of any withdrawal yet. | In Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its units in the western regions bordering Ukraine were preparing to return to their home bases — dismantling tents, loading equipment — in line with President Vladimir Putin’s order Monday. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance has seen no signs of any withdrawal yet. |
| “We have not seen any significant change to Russian troops along the border with Ukraine,” a NATO spokesman said Tuesday. “NATO would welcome such a move, and we hope that Russia will follow through with its declarations.” | |
| Putin said earlier this month that the estimated 40,000 Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border were withdrawing, with no apparent sign of it. | |
| The Russians are calling their alleged troop withdrawal a “completion” of “routine” training exercises. Russia’s Defense Ministry defines the end of the winter combat training season as May 31. Summer training starts on June 1, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported. | |
| A Defense Ministry spokesman said he “could not comment” on whether Russia will simply replace the redeployed troops with new troops along the Ukrainian border when the training season changes. | |
| In an interview Monday, Pavlo Sheremeta, Ukraine’s economy minister, welcomed Putin’s announcement, saying it appeared to go further than the Russian leader’s earlier declarations about withdrawing troops. Sheremeta said he sensed what could be a shift in tone and possibly in substance. | In an interview Monday, Pavlo Sheremeta, Ukraine’s economy minister, welcomed Putin’s announcement, saying it appeared to go further than the Russian leader’s earlier declarations about withdrawing troops. Sheremeta said he sensed what could be a shift in tone and possibly in substance. |
| “Is this credible? We shall see, but at even up until 10 days ago, all his declarations were much more hawkish,” he said. | “Is this credible? We shall see, but at even up until 10 days ago, all his declarations were much more hawkish,” he said. |
| Putin, meanwhile, went on a highly-publicized two-day visit to China as Russia moved closer to its powerful Asian neighbor in yet another sign that Moscow is distancing itself from the West amid the Ukrainian crisis. | Putin, meanwhile, went on a highly-publicized two-day visit to China as Russia moved closer to its powerful Asian neighbor in yet another sign that Moscow is distancing itself from the West amid the Ukrainian crisis. |
| “We have agreed to coordinate our foreign policy steps more closely,” including within the United Nations, the grouping known as BRICS (for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Putin said, according to Interfax. | |
| Putin on Tuesday said China was Russia’s “main trade partner.” | |
| Last year, bilateral trade approached $90 billion. “We will try to reach $100 billion next year,” Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin. | |
| Reviving a shared history of national greatness and power also permeated the Kremlin’s rhetoric on Tuesday. | |
| “Russia and China see eye-to-eye on most international issues,” Putin said. | |
| The two countries also announced that they would jointly commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II — when the Soviet Union came to China’s aid in the fight against Japan. | |
| But the Kremlin has dismissed allegations that it is looking east for political reasons. “Each country or group of countries, including the European Union, has the right to diversify their supply sources,” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told Bloomberg television over the weekend, referring to the possibility of an imminent long-term energy deal with China. | But the Kremlin has dismissed allegations that it is looking east for political reasons. “Each country or group of countries, including the European Union, has the right to diversify their supply sources,” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told Bloomberg television over the weekend, referring to the possibility of an imminent long-term energy deal with China. |
| Russia is being pulled into a new Cold War with the United States and its Western allies, Medvedev also told Bloomberg. | Russia is being pulled into a new Cold War with the United States and its Western allies, Medvedev also told Bloomberg. |
| Russia and China also issued a joint statement condemning sanctions. | Russia and China also issued a joint statement condemning sanctions. |
| Birnbaum reported from Kiev and Hauslohner from Moscow. Daniela Deane in London contributed to this report. | Birnbaum reported from Kiev and Hauslohner from Moscow. Daniela Deane in London contributed to this report. |