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Poroshenko Prepares a Unilateral Cease-Fire in Eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian Leader Proposes a Unilateral Cease-Fire in East
(about 1 hour later)
MOSCOW — President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine said on Wednesday that he was prepared to call a cease-fire by government troops as a step in ending a conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, Ukrainian and Russian news services reported.
MOSCOW — President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine said on Wednesday that he would soon put forward a 14-point plan to end the separatist violence that has effectively plunged his country into civil war, and that the peace effort would begin with a unilateral cease-fire by government forces.
The prospect of an end to the military action against pro-Russian rebels followed a phone call Tuesday night between Mr. Poroshenko and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in which a potential cease-fire was discussed.
For more than two months, the Ukrainian military has been battling pro-Russian rebels in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, with scores of casualties on both sides and no sign that the conflict will abate anytime soon.
Mr. Poroshenko, in an interview on Wednesday, said that he would order the cease-fire as soon as the border between Russia and Ukraine was secured, according to UNIAN, a Ukrainian news service.
Mr. Poroshenko’s announcement of his cease-fire plan came in response to questions by reporters in Kiev, the capital, and it followed a phone call late Tuesday with President Validmir V. Putin of Russia, in which both sides said the cease-fire was a main topic.
“The plan will begin with my order for a unilateral cease-fire,” Mr. Poroshenko said, according to Interfax, the Russian news agency. According to UNIAN, Mr. Poroshenko said he believed that a cease-fire would then receive the support of “all illegal military units.”
Other elements of Mr. Poroshenko’s plan include sealing the border with Russia and amending the Ukrainian Constitution to allow for a “decentralization” plan that will give more authority to local governments.
The Kremlin, in a statement late Tuesday after the two leaders spoke by telephone, said, “The heads of state discussed current bilateral relations issues. They touched on the topic of a possible cease-fire in areas of southeastern Ukraine engaged in hostilities.” There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin on Mr. Poroshenko’s cease-fire plan.
The initial step, however, would be a halt to the so-called antiterrorist operation in which the Ukrainian military has sought to crack down on the pro-Russian militias, which include some Russian citizens who crossed the border to join the fight. Senior Russian officials have long insisted that any peace effort must begin with the Ukrainian government ending its use of force against the separatists.
Mr. Poroshenko’s office, in a statement Wednesday, confirmed the telephone call with Mr. Putin and said the presidents had discussed the conditions that could lead to a durable cease-fire.
“The plan will begin with my order of a unilateral cease-fire,” Mr. Poroshenko said on Wednesday.
“The president held phone talks with the Russian president in the context of implementing the president of Ukraine’s peace plan, including in relation to the de-escalation of the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” the Ukrainian statement said. “The presidents of Ukraine and Russia discussed a number of priority measures to be taken for a sustainable cease-fire, and the effective ways of monitoring it.”
Mr. Poroshenko said that he envisioned a temporary cease-fire, during which rebels would put down their arms and Russian fighters would be allowed to return home.
The statement said Mr. Poroshenko had also urged Mr. Putin “to assist in the release of all detained journalists and activists.”
The initial reaction from the separatists, however, indicated that they were not prepared to accept the deal in its current form. Senior Russian officials have long insisted that they do not control — or speak for — the rebels, and previous efforts by Russia and the West to negotiate a peace settlement have failed.
In a speech at the graduation of the National Defense University on Wednesday, Mr. Poroshenko described the conflict in eastern Ukraine as a new, more sinister brand of warfare. “This is a new type of war, using professional, subversive groups, mercenaries, volunteers, local people,” he said, according to the UNIAN news service. “These volunteers and the local people are brainwashed, with a large component of information warfare.”
Claudia Kulbatskaya, a spokeswoman for the Donetsk People’s Republic, the self-declared separatist government, said the insurgent forces were dismissive of the proposal.
Mr. Poroshenko expressed confidence that Ukraine would prevail in the fight. “We will win,” he said.
Claudia Kulbatskaya, a spokeswoman for the Donetsk People’s Republic, a pro-Russian group, said that the cease-fire proposal had not prompted a response from the armed forces loyal to the group.
“He talks about a cease-fire every day,” Ms. Kulbatskaya said by telephone. “And then the next day they start bombing even more heavily.”
“He talks about a cease-fire every day,” Ms. Kulbatskaya said by telephone. “And then the next day they start bombing even more heavily.”
Denis Pushilin, one of the leaders of the political wing of the Donetsk People’s Republic, told Rain TV in Moscow that he considered Mr. Poroshenko’s proposal “meaningless.”
Denis Pushilin, one of the leaders of the political wing of the Donetsk People’s Republic, told Rain TV in Moscow that he considered Mr. Poroshenko’s proposal “meaningless.”
“This is what happens: They cease fire, we disarm and they take us unarmed,” Mr. Pushilin said.
“This is what happens: they cease fire, we disarm and they take us unarmed,” Mr. Pushilin said.
Russia has said that it does not control or speak for the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, but senior Russian officials, including the foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, have insisted that the Ukrainian government must stop its military crackdown in the east and also expressed confidence that rebels would then put down their arms.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, who has repeatedly called for the Ukrainian government to halt its military operations against the separatists, said on Wednesday that Mr. Poroshenko’s plan might not be sufficient.
Previous agreements between Russia and the West calling for a peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine have brought no results.
Speaking in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he was on an official visit, Mr. Lavrov said the Kremlin expected a “comprehensive” cease-fire, not a temporary one.
Mr. Poroshenko, who was inaugurated earlier this month, has said he will not negotiate with armed “terrorists” in eastern Ukraine but has offered to engage in dialogue with residents of the region to hear their concerns.
“If this initiative aims at comprehensive cease-fire, in which the opposition militia fighting the authorities will be able to exhibit a good will and start negotiations, to which the authorities will invite representatives of the southeast, then I think it could be the step promised by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and which is actually expected by all of us,” Mr. Lavrov said, according to the Interfax news service.
The Kremlin, in its statement, said Mr. Putin had also conveyed unhappiness over the deaths of two members of a Russian television news crew who were killed in eastern Ukraine.
“Vladimir Putin expressed concern regarding the tragic death of Russian journalists in Luhansk and highlighted the need for an absolute assurance of security for members of the media working in Ukraine’s conflict zones,” the statement said.
The Kremlin added, “Petro Poroshenko expressed his condolences regarding the death of Russian media representatives and assured the president of Russia that corresponding investigations will be carried out on his instructions and necessary measures will be taken to ensure safety for journalists.”
Separately, a Russian natural gas company executive said the flow of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine was unaffected by an explosion on a Ukrainian pipeline on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Gazprom cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on Monday after negotiations over Ukraine’s gas payments fell apart. The Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline, which was hit by the blast, is the main transit route for Russian gas to the European Union via Ukraine.
Ukraine said on Tuesday that it was treating the explosion as a possible “act of terrorism.”
