Obama, Merkel rally behind diplomacy in Ukraine conflict

[webfact]

Obama, Merkel rally behind diplomacy in Ukraine conflict
By JULIE PACE

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel rallied behind efforts to reach a long-shot diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine Monday, but they offered no clear path for how the West would proceed if talks this week fail.

During a joint White House news conference, Obama dangled the prospect that the U.S. could for the first time send anti-tank weapons and other defensive arms to Ukraine. While no decision has been made, the president said he had ordered his team to consider "whether there are additional things we can do to help Ukraine bolster its defenses in the face of Russian aggression."

Merkel staunchly opposes arming Ukraine's beleaguered military. The German chancellor, who has perhaps the most productive relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, made clear she had not given up on the possibility that diplomatic negotiations could produce an elusive peace plan.

"It has always proved to be right to try again and again to sort such a conflict," Merkel said through a translator.

The U.S. and Europe have focused on economic sanctions in their punitive actions against Russia. The penalties, along with plummeting oil prices, have caused significant damage to Russia's economy.

The European Union decided Monday to temporarily hold off on ordering more sanctions on the Russians and Ukrainian separatists while awaiting the outcome of this week's peace talks.

The U.S. and Europe have largely been in agreement on their response to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, raising the possibility that a public split over lethal aid is merely a tactic to push Putin to strike a deal to end the fighting. Obama and Merkel both repeatedly said Monday that the U.S. and Europe would stay united in efforts to stop Russian provocations.

The White House meetings followed German and French-led talks last week with Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The parties will meet again Wednesday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The United States has not been at the table for either set of discussions.

In eastern Ukraine on Monday, a powerful explosion rocked a chemical plant and set it on fire outside the separatist stronghold of Donetsk. Rebels said government shelling had hit the plant, which lies in the middle of Ukraine's industrial heartland.

More than 5,300 people have been killed since fighting in eastern Ukraine began in April, according to a United Nations tally. On Monday, Ukraine said about 1,500 Russian troops had crossed the border into Ukraine via rebel-controlled border posts over the weekend, but military spokesman Andriy Lysenko did not provide any proof.

Russia has denied supplying the rebels with either troops or heavy weapons, but Western military experts say the sheer amount of new heavy weapons in eastern Ukraine belies the Russian denial.

Ukraine and the rebels reached a peace deal last fall, but it has repeatedly been violated by both sides. The bloodshed in eastern Ukraine has markedly increased over the past two weeks, leading to both the new diplomatic maneuvering and Obama's re-evaluation of sending Ukraine military aid.

A senior administration official said Obama's national security team has been discussing a range of options for helping the Ukrainian military hold its ground in the east. However, the options have not formally been presented to Obama yet, according to the official, who was granted anonymity in order to discuss the internal deliberations.

The president gave no indication Monday of how quickly he would make a decision on possibly ramping up military assistance, nor did he indicate whether there was a specific development that might trigger that step.

"The measure by which I make these decisions is, is it more likely to be effective than not," he said.

Even if Obama comes down in favor of sending Ukraine defensive weapons, his advisers have downplayed the notion that doing so might tip the scales of the conflict. The president's goal, aides say, would be to help the Ukrainians hold their positions, not necessarily give them the level of weaponry that would be required to put them on the same level as the Russian-backed forces.

The U.S. has so far limited its military assistance to non-lethal equipment, including gas masks and radar technology to detect incoming fire. If Obama approves lethal aid, the U.S. could send Ukraine anti-tank missiles, such as the Javelin weapon system, along with armored vehicles and intelligence systems that could allow forces to better anticipate incoming offensives.

Details of the proposals being discussed between Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France have not been revealed. However, a French diplomatic official said Monday that a demilitarized zone between Ukraine and Russia was a "condition" for a ceasefire, but remained a sticking point in the new international push for peace.

The official said other main difficulties include how to police the Ukrainian-Russian border to ensure Russia is not sending troops or equipment to the separatists. Ukrainian officials would have the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe conduct such monitoring.

Another potentially problematic area: the future status of regions in eastern Ukraine now under control of pro-Russian rebels. Ukraine passed a law last year proposing what it called significant autonomy for the east, but rebels dismissed it as vague and meaningless. Russia has pushed for "federalization" of Ukraine, which would presumably give the east significant independence, but Ukrainian authorities oppose that.

The French official spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the ongoing negotiations.
___

Associated Press writer Sylvia Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-02-10

[ggold]

http://www.globalresearch.ca/europe-fractures-france-pivots-to-putin-germany-us-splinter-on-ukraine/5430300

Following yesterday’s summary of the utter farce that the Minsk Summit/Ukraine “peace” deal talks have become, the various parties involved appear to be fracturing even faster today. The headlines are coming thick and fast but most prescient appears to be: Despite John Kerry’s denial of any split between Germany and US over arms deliveries to Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Steinmeier slammed Washington’s strategy for being “not just risky but counterproductive.” But perhaps most significantly is France’s continued apparent pivot towards Russia…

Following Francois Hollande’s calls for greater autonomy for Eastern Ukraine, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has come out in apparent support of Russia (and specifically against the US), “we are part of a common civilization with Russia,” adding, “the interests of the Americans with the Russians are not the interests of Europe and Russia.”

Even NATO appears to have given up hope of peace as Stoltenberg’s statements show little optimism and the decision by Cyprus to allow Russia to use its soil for military facilities suggests all is not at all well in the European ‘union’.

Is Europe heading for War?

[ggold]

double post removed

Edited February 10, 2015 by ggold

[Asiantravel]

Obama-Merkel's top hypocritical moment

http://failedevolution.blogspot.gr/2015/02/obama-merkels-top-hypocritical-moment.html

[F430murci]

Lol, the failedrevolutiin globalresearch contingency.

While I agree that the prospects of settlement, especially with rebels encircling and likely to take Debaltseve at any moment, is poor as Putin has insistedon drawing the new line to include all revel cobtroled territory. Ukraine wants it to return to September cease fire line.

One can only hope that a peaceful compromise can be reached. Without American support, Ukraine will keep losing real estate the longer this progresses.

[OZEMADE]

"One thousand five hundred Russian soldiers and 300 pieces of military equipment, including Grad missile systems, crossed the Ukraine-Russia border on February 7 and 8," Ukraine military spokesman Andriy Lysensko told journalists.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/26244396/1-500-russian-troops-military-equipment-enter-ukraine-kiev/

[Publicus]

I'd mentioned that longtime foreign correspondent Andrea Mitchell of NBC in the US reported yesterday that "rebel" prisoners taken the past several days by Ukrainian armed forces have possessed passports of the Russian Federation.

Ukraine troops have also found Russian passports in the possession of wounded "rebels" it has captured and on the corpses of killed "rebel" combatants.

This tends to ratify the concern all along that after Putin is finished in Ukraine the Baltic countries then Poland are next.

[Asiantravel]

" Putin is going to hit once, but he’s going to hit hard "

http://stateofthenation2012.com/?p=11327

[ggold]

[F430murci]

" Putin is going to hit once, but hes going to hit hard "

http://stateofthenation2012.com/?p=11327

Hilarious! It just never stops with you. Your nutty article is about Putin releasing satelite evidence about 911.

Now, how the heck is this crackpot conspiracy article about 911 even remotely related to OP.

Two options: (1) you with do this for humor, but don't believe the hysterial crap you post; or (2) you are one if those that sit around in your tightie whities (bugs in clothes) in a tin foil lined room afraid to use toothpaste, whacking off in your own feces, inspecting cheese for bugs and scanning the net to see which politicians are on the latest list of shape shifting lizards. I hope you fit option (1) as option (2) is a sad place to be.

So far your track record on predications based on your looney websites has a batting average of about . . . ZERO! Lol, at your almost obsessive insistence that US was going to invade from the South by Ebola zombies and that US was doomed to have an uncontrollable Ebola outbreak.

Edited February 11, 2015 by F430murci

[F430murci]

Lol, you really like this zerohedge video that got picked up by infowars et al a day or two after the Mariupol shelling.

If you read something other than conspiracy sites you would see that NATO sent 1,300 troops into Ukraine for training exercises in Fall of 2014. This was reported on alll major news feeds so your breaking news about a English speaking soldier on the ground in Ukraine is really startling or breaking after all.

Again, a big difference in NATO troops on ground helping Ukraine defend their country as opposed to the use of Russia forces and weapons to invade another country.

[F430murci]

Here is the real impediment to settlement and Putin's goals are pretty clear. He wants to capture a major railway city of Debaltseve and a major industrial and sea port city Mariupol. This provides steel and iron facilities and needed rail routes to his newly acquired property.

Fighting has picked up in earnest in both areas as rebels are tryi g to take control of both cities just prior to talks in Minsk.

He has already stated that if a settlement is reached, the line will be drawn to include all territory controled by rebel advances.

I don't think Ukraine is willing to loose that much real estate and production capabilities. Mariupol may impact GDP and the amount IMF may loan and Debaltseve is a needed railway hub.