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Ukraine peace bid moves to Moscow as U.S. weighs providing weapons Moscow talks fail to produce a Ukraine peace deal
(about 1 hour later)
MOSCOW — A European-led bid to quell escalating fighting in eastern Ukraine turned to Moscow on Friday amid pessimism about whether the parties to the bitter conflict could reach a compromise. MOSCOW — European leaders on Friday broke from last-ditch negotiations without reaching an agreement to calm an escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine, as new splits opened between the United States and Europe over whether to bolster Ukrainian forces with arms shipments.
The burst of diplomacy came as the White House deliberated on whether to arm Ukraine’s military, a possibility that appears to have opened rifts between Washington and Europe. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande touched down in Moscow to pursue a peace plan, another top German official said that sending weapons to Ukraine was a dangerous idea. Kremlin talks between the leaders of Russia, Germany and France stretched for more than five hours, but they ended early Saturday with no conclusion, a sign of the bitter divisions between the two sides. The leaders planned to continue the negotiations over the weekend and to speak again by telephone on Sunday.
Ukrainian officials said any agreement to stop the fighting must adhere to principles agreed for a previous cease-fire in September, raising questions about how durable any new peace plan could be. The September agreement quickly broke down, and officials briefed on President Vladimir Putin’s newest suggestions for a resolution said he wanted to award pro-Russian rebels the hundreds of square miles of territory that they have captured in the meantime. The core of the deal appeared to be a return to a tattered cease-fire agreed to in Minsk, Belarus in September. But Ukraine and Russia have differed over crucial issues such as how much territory would be left under the control of the rebels, who have captured hundreds of square miles since the deal was inked last year.
After the French, German and Russian leaders concluded their talks here Friday, a spokesman for Putin said the next step would be a conference call among the three and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Sunday. No details of the Kremlin talks were disclosed. The Moscow visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel was her first since the conflict in Ukraine erupted nearly a year ago, and it was a sign of the high stakes she assigned to reaching an agreement. But both French President François Hollande and she sped to a Moscow airport after midnight and departed, giving no statements.
The parallel tracks from the West — a peace bid while also considering the addition of more firepower in the conflict — presented an increasingly complicated backdrop to the high-level talks with Putin. “Joint work is being done at the moment to draw up the text of a possible joint document on implementing the Minsk agreements, a document that would include the Ukrainian president’s proposals and proposals formulated and added today by Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters early Saturday.
But European officials were clearer Friday in their opposition to any U.S. proposals to arm the Ukrainians, raising the possibility of splits in what so far has been a unified Western front against Russia. “Preliminary outcomes” will be discussed on Sunday in a telephone conversation between the Ukrainian, Russian, German and French leaders, Peskov said.
“Focusing merely on weapons deliveries could add fuel to the conflict,” German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told an international security conference in Munich, strongly cautioning the West against providing arms to Ukraine. The burst of diplomacy came as the White House deliberated on whether to arm Ukraine’s military with powerful tools such as antitank missiles, surveillance drones and advanced radar. That possibility appears to have opened rifts between Washington and Europe, which have thus far been unified in their efforts to put pressure on Russia. One top German official said Friday that sending weapons to Ukraine was a dangerous idea.
Such a plan, she said, could worsen the fighting by escalating the type of weapons used on the battlefield. Russia, she argued, could simply funnel an unlimited number of arms to the separatists. The West would not be able to match such supplies and could potentially hand Moscow a pretext to become more deeply involved in the conflict, she said. “Focusing merely on weapons deliveries could add fuel to the conflict,” German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told an international security conference in Munich, strongly cautioning the West against providing arms to Ukraine. “Are we sure that Ukraine can actually win against the machinery of Russia? Have we fully understood the huge potential for conflict?”
Von der Leyen’s comments underscored the sharp differences between European capitals and a segment of policymakers in Washington who are arguing in favor of providing weapons. She suggested using economic levers against Russia instead. Russia, she argued, could simply funnel an unlimited number of arms to the separatists. She suggested using economic levers against Russia instead.
Russian leaders also warned that any peace proposals could be crushed if Washington decides to arm Ukraine’s military. Von der Leyen’s comments underscored the sharp differences between European capitals and a segment of policymakers in Washington who are arguing in favor of providing weapons.
In Washington, national security adviser Susan E. Rice said the proposals carried by Hollande and Merkel have the Ukrainian government’s blessing. “They’re not out there unilaterally cutting a deal with Putin at Ukraine’s expense,” she said Friday. Ukrainian officials said any agreement to stop the fighting must adhere to principles agreed to for the previous cease-fire in September, raising questions about how durable any new peace plan could be. The September agreement quickly broke down. Officials briefed on Putin’s newest suggestions for a resolution said he wanted to put in place measures that would effectively turn eastern Ukraine into a frozen conflict zone similar to those in several other former Soviet republics, including Moldova and Georgia. Those territories give the Kremlin powerful sway over their national governments.
Rice said the Obama administration has not made a decision yet to provide “lethal defensive equipment” to Ukraine and would do so only “in close consultation . . . with our partners, whose unity on this issue with us thus far has been a core element of our strength in responding to Russia’s aggression.” The Minsk agreements demand that Russia seal its porous border with Ukraine to prevent arms and fighters from flowing in. It also envisioned more autonomy, but not full independence, for the rebel-held areas. Ukraine and its western allies accuse Russia of fueling the conflict with troops and weapons. The Kremlin acknowledges that Russian citizens are taking part in the fight, but it denies any role in the war.
Ukraine, the United States, NATO and the European Union say Russia has sent troops and weapons into eastern Ukraine to bolster pro-Moscow separatists opposing the Western-oriented policies of the government in Kiev. The fighting has claimed at least 5,300 lives, according to U.N. estimates, and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes.
Russia denies offering direct help to the rebels in the nearly year-long conflict, but Moscow remains crucial to any attempt to restore the September truce, which is now largely in tatters. Ukrainian officials expressed worries Friday that any split between the United States and Europe over the arms shipments would give the initiative to Putin.
Expectations were low for a breakthrough in a conflict that has claimed at least 5,300 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. But the unusual shuttle diplomacy was an initial sign that the two European leaders believed that some deal could soon be achieved. Before Friday’s talks, Merkel had not visited Moscow since the conflict with Russia erupted nearly a year ago.
Ukrainian officials expressed worries that any split between the United States and Europe would give the initiative to Putin.
Putin’s “interest lies in the maximum destabilization for the situation in Ukraine,” a Ukrainian diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the state of the negotiations frankly.Putin’s “interest lies in the maximum destabilization for the situation in Ukraine,” a Ukrainian diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the state of the negotiations frankly.
“As soon as he sees any break in the front of the West, the U.S. and the E.U., he will definitely see it as a spark for more actions,” the diplomat said.“As soon as he sees any break in the front of the West, the U.S. and the E.U., he will definitely see it as a spark for more actions,” the diplomat said.
In Paris, Hollande described the mission to Moscow as a “first step.” In Washington, national security adviser Susan E. Rice said Friday that the Obama administration has not made a decision yet to provide “lethal defensive equipment” to Ukraine and would do so only “in close consultation . . . with our partners, whose unity on this issue with us thus far has been a core element of our strength in responding to Russia’s aggression.”
Hollande and Merkel headed to Moscow a day after talks in Kiev with Poroshenko, Ukraine’s pro-Western president. Russian leaders also warned that any peace proposals could be crushed if Washington decides to arm Ukraine’s military.
“We are convinced that there’s no military solution to this conflict,” Merkel said in Berlin before traveling to Moscow. “But we also know that it’s completely open whether we will manage to achieve a cease-fire with these talks.” Hollande and Merkel headed to Moscow a day after talks in Kiev with Ukraine’s Western-allied president, Petro Poroshenko. Merkel is scheduled on Saturday to address a conference in Munich at which Poroshenko, Secretary of State John F. Kerry, Vice President Biden and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will also be present.
Poroshenko’s office said in a statement Friday that the proposals he had discussed with the French and German leaders largely hewed to the September cease-fire terms, “which are the basis for the resolution of the conflict.” Merkel is scheduled to meet with President Obama in Washington on Monday.
The discussions come a day after Secretary of State John F. Kerry stopped in Kiev and called on Russia to withdraw its forces and pull back weapons as a move toward calming tensions in eastern Ukraine. “We are convinced that there’s no military solution to this conflict,” Merkel said Friday in Berlin, ahead of the Moscow talks.
But Kerry also noted that President Obama was weighing whether to significantly boost military help to Ukraine. Lawmakers favoring the move toward so-called “lethal” aid want Washington to supply equipment such as antitank missiles, surveillance drones and advanced radar. NATO’s top military commander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, said Friday that it was a mistake to take stronger steps off the table. Options in the “tool bag” of responses in Ukraine should include military measures alongside other ones, Breedlove said in Munich.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Munich that he supported the German and French initiative. But NATO’s top military commander said it was wrong to take stronger steps off the table. “If what is being done is not producing what you want to gain from the conversation, then maybe all tools in the tool bag should be used, and conventional means should not be outwardly discounted,” he said.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, NATO’s supreme commander in Europe, said options in the “tool bag” of responses in Ukraine should include political pressure, informational tactics and economic levers — plus military measures. Anthony Faiola and Carol Morello in Munich and Brian Murphy and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
“If what is being done is not producing what you want to gain from the conversation, then maybe all tools in the tool bag should be used, and conventional means should not be outwardly discounted.”
Russia’s ambassador to France, Aleksandr Orlov, told Europe 1 radio: “We are not afraid of [proposed U.S. arms shipments], but it would be madness because that would be like pouring oil on the fire.”
In advance of the Moscow talks, Orlov also added a sense of urgency.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a last-chance meeting,” he said, “but it’s not far off.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign minister joined Kerry and other officials at the security conference in Munich, where the conflict in Ukraine was expected to be high on the agenda.
Former German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, who is heading the meeting, called Merkel and Hollande’s trip to Moscow a “last, resolute attempt” to secure a cease-fire pact reached last September.
“All sides know that fighting over every square meter won’t help anyone. What’s needed now is calm so there can be negotiations,” Ischinger told Germany’s ZDF network.
Murphy reported from Washington. Anthony Faiola and Carol Morello in Munich and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.