NATO Summit Casts Shadow over Ukrainian Peace Efforts

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/09/04/nato-summit-casts-shadow-over-ukrainian-peace-efforts



Alliance's push for expansion of military footprint in eastern Europe threatens to provoke Russia amid fragile peace negotiations for eastern Ukraine

NATO Summit Casts Shadow over Ukrainian Peace Efforts
Jon Queally, staff writer
Thursday, September 04, 2014

While NATO leaders met in Wales for the first session of a two-day summit on Thursday—where issues related to eastern Ukraine were among the chief topics—officials made hopeful progress towards a negotiated settlement of the conflict in the region. Both Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and key leaders of the rebel forces aligned against him announced that a cease fire could begin after a round of settlement talks scheduled for Friday.

Those talks—held in Minsk, Belarus and including the representatives from the so-called 'Contact Group,' which includes Ukraine, rebel factions, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)—have been held as series of discussions since last week when Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir met on the sidelines of regional trade talks.

While attending the NATO summit on Thursday, Poroshenko announced that if Friday's meeting in Minsk takes place and an agreement can be reached, he would “call on the general staff to set up a bilateral cease-fire, and we hope that the implementation of the peace plan will begin tomorrow.”

Poroshenko's stated willingness to entertain the truce and additional peace talks is reportedly echoed by separatist forces. According to Reuters:

Alexander Zakharchenko, head of the main rebel Donetsk People's Republic, said in a statement his men would also order a ceasefire, from one hour later, provided that Kiev's representatives signed up to a peace plan at the Minsk meeting.