Tag Archives: ukraine
Putin moves towards annexing Crimea
Putin moves towards annexing Crimea (AP) / 18 March 2014 Putin is set to address both houses of the parliament at 3pm Moscow time (1100 GMT) in a nationally televised speech where he is widely expected to stake Russia’s claim on Crimea. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday approved a draft bill for the annexation of Crimea, one of a flurry of steps to formally take over the Black Sea peninsula. Crimea on Sunday voted overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine and seek to join Russia. The West and Ukraine described the referendum which was announced two weeks ago as illegitimate. The United States and the European Union on Monday announced asset freezes and other sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in the Crimean crisis. President Barack Obama warned that more would come if Russia didn’t stop interfering in Ukraine. Read more: US, EU and Japan set sanctions Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, however, hailed Crimea’s vote to join Russia as a “happy event.” Russian troops have been occupying the region for more than two weeks. The decree signed by Putin and posted on the official government website Tuesday morning is one of the steps which that formalize the annexation of Crimea. Russia, however, still has room to back off: the treaty to annex Crimea has to be signed by leaders of Russia and Crimea, approved by the Constitutional Court and then be ratified by the parliament. Putin is set to address both houses of the parliament at 3 p.m. Moscow time (1100 GMT) in a nationally televised speech where he is widely expected to stake Russia’s claim on Crimea. Gorbachev, in remarks carried Tuesday by online newspaper Slon.ru, said Crimea’s vote offered residents the freedom of choice and justly reflected their will. The referendum showed that “people really wanted to return to Russia” and was a “happy event,” he said. Gorbachev added that the Crimean referendum set an example for people in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, who also should decide their fate. Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev said in an interview with RIA Novosti on Tuesday that the peninsula has already received some financial aid from Russia but stopped short of saying how much. Many in the ethnic Tatar minority in Crimea were wary of the referendum, fearing that Crimea’s break-off from Ukraine would set off violence against them. Temirgaliyev seemed to confirm those fears, saying that the government would ask Tatars to “vacate” some of the lands they “illegally” occupy so authorities can use them for “social needs.” The Russian State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution condemning US sanctions targeting Russian officials including members of the chamber. The chamber challenged President Barack Obama to extend the sanctions to all the 353 deputies who voted for Tuesday’s resolution, suggesting that being targeted was a badge of honor. Eighty-eight deputies left the house before the vote. Crimea had been part of Russia since the 18 th century until Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred it to Ukraine in 1954. Both Russians and Crimea’s majority ethnic Russian population see annexation as correcting a historic insult. Ukraine’s turmoil, which began in November with a wave of protests against President Viktor Yanukovych and accelerated after he fled to Russia in late February, has become Europe’s most severe security crisis in years. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Russia launches media war over Ukraine action
Russia launches media war over Ukraine action (AFP) / 2 March 2014 State media controlled by the Kremlin launched a full-scale propaganda operation with footage aimed at discrediting the new Kiev authorities and rousing anger at alleged outrages perpetrated against the Russian-speaking population. Taisia Bullard, who was born in central Ukraine, holds a protest banner in front in the Russian embassy in Washington.- AP Russian state media and ruling party officials on Sunday warned of armed marauders in Ukraine and urged the public to stand firmly behind President Vladimir Putin on possible military action. State media controlled by the Kremlin launched a full-scale propaganda operation with footage aimed at discrediting the new Kiev authorities and rousing anger at alleged outrages perpetrated against the Russian-speaking population. Fanning suspicions of international involvement in the Kiev protests, news channel Russia 24 aired an apparent confession from a young Russian who claimed he was paid to serve as a sniper with opposition forces. “There are mercenaries there… they come from very different countries: the United States and Germany, they come wearing identical military uniforms,” he alleged. He said he feared violent reprisals for his revelations, alleging that the protest leaders in Kiev would “just put people in a cellar and kill them”. Named only as Vladislav, he was filmed being grilled by investigators after being detained in the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine. A Russia 24 anchor added a warning that “mercenaries are now going to Crimea. Their aims are clear enough: to provoke a new wave of the crisis and rob people on the sly”. The same channel interviewed the governor of the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, Yevgeny Savchenko, who warned that “crowds of armed people” were on the move and on Saturday tried to block a highway to Crimea. Meanwhile top lawmakers spoke out reassuringly on the situation, stressing a mood of national unity. “The situation in Ukraine consolidates all Russian civil society,” said United Russia lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, who heads the lower house’s committee on links with ex-Soviet states. “Everyone is unambiguously in support of protecting our people in Ukraine, so as not to allow Russian language and Russians to be pushed out of Ukraine,” he said, cited by RIA Novosti news agency. Ruling party United Russia invited Russians to march in central Moscow on Sunday, calling Ukraine’s people a “brother” nation that “needs our protection and support”. The march, hastily organised and sanctioned by city authorities, was set to start at 1300 GMT at Pushkin Square and cover a route across central Moscow. United Russia warned that ethnic Russians in Ukraine were “suffering persecution and violence because they speak Russian, remain friendly towards Russia and do not recognise the nationalist Bandera supporters who have seized power”. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Mikhail Gorbachev calls for collective leadership
Mikhail Gorbachev calls for collective leadership Afkar Abdullah / 24 February 2014 Former Soviet leader says The root cause of the unrest in Ukraine was an interruption of perestroika and of the democratic process there. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says the crisis in Ukraine has been created by the government’s failure to act democratically. Speaking at the IGCF on Sunday, as the forum’s guest of honour, he dwelled briefly on the current political situation in Ukraine where protesters took to the streets of Kiev and seized the president’s office as parliament voted to remove him and hold elections. Speaking about the social conflicts across the world, Gorbachev said: “Today, the world is a kind of turbulent sea. The tensions that have accumulated can surface in the most dramatic way — although it will be difficult to say where. In such reactions, we have seen mass uprisings in countries such as Turkey and Ukraine that underline the failure of their governments to act democratically and talk to their people. The root cause of the unrest in Ukraine was an interruption of perestroika and of the democratic process there.” Calling for change, he said: “Weak crisis management indicates lack of political initiative and courage. Leaders have been content with small steps and have failed to act in the spirit of collective leadership, which is the only workable format in today’s world. The transition to a more sustainable world is imperative. If the current elite are not able to provide leadership to pioneer this change, it is time for the new race of leaders to take their place. Today, we need to look for solutions that lead to world peace. We need global governance — it is a multi-level initiative that covers the local, national, and regional levels. We have only years and not decades to resolve this problem.” In his keynote address, Gorbachev said: “The 20th century has turned out to be the bloodiest century. Although we are living in an interdependent world, we are yet to live in interdependence. We are, therefore, seeing the consequences of this inability in political, economic and social interactions. Globalisation is the dominant reality of the world. The end of the cold war gave impetus to this globalisation.” Gorbachev criticised the way issues are being addressed: “In as much, the assumption that the current model of globalisation will see us overcome the problems of inequality is not working. In fact, we see the development of new weapons and conflicts while old conflicts remain unresolved. For instance, the economic crisis of 2008 is not over. It should have been an alarm bell – but we have not responded to it adequately; there has been no sincere shared effort.” He said globalisation would achieve equality and spread tolerance in the world; it is now encouraging Muslim countries to confront the marginalisation by the Great Powers. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
