Our wrap-up of the days events via the newsroom. This will also conclude our live blogging for Tuesday, September 16.
Ukraine Seals EU Pact, Offers Rebel East 'Special Status'
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement reacting to Russian Defense Minister Shoigu's assertion today on the deployment of a "complete and self-sufficient military grouping in the direction of Crimea." (Translation by RFE/RL Central Newsroom)
Since it created a "gray zone" on the sovereign territory of Ukraine that is de facto not covered by current multilateral agreements in the area of arms control, the Russian Federation has continued to increase its military presence in Crimea and create military strike groups there with unclear objectives. The minister cited the reasons for such military preparations -- an increase in foreign military presence near the Russian borders and a worsening of the situation in Ukraine -- that don't withstand scrutiny, especially in contravention of an agreement to end the use of weapons in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regards S. Shoigu's statement as destabilizing the situation in the whole Black Sea region.
We urge the Russian Federation to stop provocative actions that threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and peace in the region.
Some of the protesting that went on outside the Ukrainian parliament as deputies granted some eastern swaths "special status" and passed an amnesty for less serious crimes, in addition to backing the Association Agreement with the EU.
Eskender Bariyev, a member of the Crimean Tatar Parliament, the Mejlis, told RFE/RL about a Russian police raid on his home this morning. Police also searched the parliament's offices. The officers told Bariyev they were searching for weapons and "illegal literature," he said. They confiscated his computer and materials relating to a planned conference on security in the Black Sea.
