4-way summit on ukraine crisis could herald breakthrough on peace deal

8/9/2019 4-Way Summit on Ukraine Crisis Could Herald Breakthrough on Peace Deal

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4-way summit on Ukraine crisis couldherald breakthrough on peace deal

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ousands of residents from the Debaltseve area evacuate from the newepicenter of separatist ghting.

MUNICH — A peace proposal for Ukraine edged toward a possible breakthrough as

the leaders of Germany !rance "ussia and Ukraine agreed #unday to a $oint summit

alongside representati%es of the pro&Moscow separatists who ha%e waged a bloody

campaign in the Ukrainian east'

(he four leaders agreed to the proposed summit — scheduled for )ednesday in the

*elarus capital Minsk — during a four&way phone call #unday' (he success of the

summit howe%er still appeared to hinge on further diplomatic talks Monday in *erlin

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aimed at laying the groundwork for a +comprehensi%e settlement, of the crisis in

Ukraine where fighting has steadily worsened'

(he German go%ernment announced the summit plans on the heels of whirlwind %isits

last week to -ie% and Moscow by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and !rench.resident !ran/ois Hollande who ha%e launched a high&stakes diplomatic push to fend

off an escalation of the fighting as well as a growing standoff between the )est and

"ussia' 0uropean and U'#' go%ernments ha%e accused Moscow of subterfuge for

denying its in%ol%ement in Ukraine e%en as they cite conclusi%e intelligence indicating

both "ussian weapons and disguised troops are fighting in Ukraine1s resti%e east'

(he summit details came together according to Merkel1s spokesman #teffen #eibertafter the phone call #unday resulted in further +work on a package of measures, aimed

at a settlement'

Ne%ertheless serious skepticism remained that any deal if reached would be adhered

to by Moscow and the separatists' A deal reached in Minsk last #eptember which

aimed to create a demilitari2ed 2one and more autonomy for the rebel&held lands was

routinely %iolated before largely breaking down in recent weeks'

Object1

Secretary of State ohn !erry denied that the U.S. and "urope are divided over how to



respond to the crisis in Ukraine and how to deal with #ussia$s role in it.

#peaking in the "ussian resort town of #ochi "ussian .resident 3ladimir .utin

offered a 4ualified confirmation the summit plans saying they would go ahead +if by

then we ha%e agreed upon a number of positions that were a sub$ect of our intense

discussions recently', (hose issues appear to include whether the recent land gainsmade by separatists would be recogni2ed'

(he summit plans came as the Ukraine crisis dominated a ma$or security summit in

Munich that drew top policymakers from all sides of the conflict' 5n #unday here #en'

6ohn McCain 7"&Ari2'8 underscored the festering di%isions o%er how to handle the

crisis — both with )ashington as well as across the Atlantic — by reiterating calls for

the )est to supply -ie% with defensi%e arm' A host of 0uropeans — led by Merkel —

ha%e denounced the notion as merely a way to ensure the conflict escalates'

“(he 4uestion is how long can .utin sustain a war he tells his people is not

happening9, McCain said in a speech he deli%ered immediately after one by #ecretary

of #tate 6ohn !' -erry' +(hat1s why we must pro%ide defensi%e arms to Ukraine',

:et -erry seemed to echo Merkel1s comments a day earlier saying there is no military

solution to the fighting'

#peaking $ust before lea%ing for )ashington -erry denied any rift between the United

#tates and 0urope o%er how to respond to "ussia1s support of the separatists'

“(here is no di%ision' (here is no split, he said in a forum with his counterparts from

Germany and !rance two countries whose leaders ha%e argued that sending more

arms to Ukraine will only escalate the conflict that already has claimed ;<== li%es' +I

keep hearing people trying to create one' )e are working closely together' )e all agree

this challenge will not end through military force',

“I assure you, he added +no matter what we will stand together in support of Ukraine

and in defense of the common understanding that international borders must not



cannot be changed by force in 0urope or anywhere else',

%&"' (#)*+&,

Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are trapped between the battle lines in the

renewed ghting.

(he 5bama administration has been reluctant to send lethal weaponry to -ie% but

now it is under pressure from Congress to re%erse that policy' McCain the organi2er of

bilateral delegation of >; senators and House members attending the Munich #ecurity

Conference in effect rebutted -erry by arguing that the )est must help Ukraine

defend itself and raise the war1s cost to .utin'

(he laborious attempts to forge a deal highlighted what was being portrayed in

0uropean capitals as a last&ditch effort to pre%ent a sharp escalation of hostilities in a

conflict raging for months on the eastern fringes of 0urope' (he new cease&fire

proposal being pushed by Merkel and Hollande follows the outlines of an agreement

reached in #eptember that ultimately crumbled'

)ithout a speedy resolution the conflict between "ussian&backed separatists in

eastern Ukraine and the pro&)estern go%ernment in -ie% appears poised to spread

and deepen' According to #tate ?epartment officials familiar with some details of the

new plan one sticking point is the demarcation line between forces if a cease&fire takes

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effect' (he Ukrainians want it to be the same as agreed to last fall' (he pro&"ussian

rebels want it to reflect the changed realities caused by their latest offensi%e said the

officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks are at a sensiti%e

stage'

(he crisis in eastern Ukraine where go%ernment forces are besieged by separatists

widely said to be supported and armed by Moscow is dominating the Munich #ecurity

Conference' (he conference which ends #unday is fueled with urgency born of fear

that a broader e@pansion of the war is near'

Merkel and Hollande ha%e e@pended serious political capital launching a bid for a new

cease&fire in recent days' (he pair flew to -ie% and then Moscow with Merkel due fortalks at the )hite House on Monday' (he leaders of Germany !rance Ukraine and

"ussia are additionally scheduled to hold a conference call #unday to discuss the peace

initiati%e which Hollande characteri2ed as a last&ditch effort'

“*ecause if we are not able to reach not a compromise but a durable peace accord we

perfectly know the scenario, he said in an inter%iew with !rench tele%ision' +It has

one name' It is called war',

3ice .resident *iden and NA(5 #ecretary General 6ens #toltenberg also e@pressed

cautious support for a face&sa%ing compromise that would ha%e "ussia pull back

thousands of its soldiers and seal the border' *iden also was openly skeptical that

"ussia would stick to any deal' +(oo many times .resident .utin has promised peace

and deli%ered tanks troops and weapons, he said'

A bipartisan congressional delegation to the conference of nine "epublicans and si@

?emocrats — all of whom fa%or the United #tates sending lethal weapons to Ukraine —

met with Ukrainian .resident .etro .oroshenko who played down the prospects for

peace'

“It1s safe to say he is not o%erly optimistic about these negotiations, said McCain who



led the group'

#en' *ob Corker 7"&(enn'8 the new chairman of the #enate !oreign "elations

Committee noted that Ukraine is facing an economic crisis as well' +Ukraine is on the

brink, he told reporters' +)e need to help it with significant financial supportsanctions and arms',

(he conference underscored the wide gulf separating competing narrati%es offered up

by "ussia and %irtually e%erybody else'

5fficially "ussia continues to deny sending its soldiers into Ukrainian territory

although e%idence from )estern satellites and eyewitnesses suggests otherwise' In a

particularly dramatic display that he said dispro%es "ussia1s claims .oroshenko held

aloft se%eral red passports that he said came from "ussian soldiers fighting on

Ukrainian soil' He plainti%ely asked how much +e%idence does the world still need to

recogni2e the ob%ious fact there is foreign military e4uipment "ussian military

coaches and regular troops, operating in Ukraine'

"ussian !oreign Minister #ergei Ba%ro% in turn accused the )est of supporting a

go%ernment in -ie% that he said came to power %ia a +coup d1etat, as well as anti&

"ussian and @enophobic paramilitaries'

“(hrough e%ery step as the crisis has de%eloped our American colleagues and the

0uropean UnionD under their influence ha%e tried to escalate the situation, Ba%ro%

said' *ut few in the audience bought his claims that "ussia is not fostering %iolence in

eastern Ukraine' (hey peppered him with skeptical 4uestions and Ba%ro% at one point

looked wearily at his wristwatch'

!ear of Moscow1s ambitions was most palpable at the conference among officials from

"ussia1s smaller neighbors' Asked why Bithuanian .resident ?alia Grybauskaite

answered succinctlyE +After Ukraine we will be ne@t',



Michael Birnbaum in Brussels and Karoun Demirjian in Moscow contributed to this

report.

)nthony aiola is The *ost$s erlin bureau chief. aiola /oinedthe *ost in 01142 since then reporting for the paper from si3 continents andserving as bureau chief in Tokyo2 uenos )ires2 ew 5ork and 6ondon.

,arol 7orello is the diplomatic correspondent for The

'ashington *ost2 covering the State Department.

.osted by (ha%am

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/carol-morello

http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/anthony-faiola

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4-way summit on ukraine crisis could herald breakthrough on peace deal

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