Four-Way Talks On Ukraine Underway In Paris
PARIS (AP) -- Talks about a fragile peace deal for Ukraine are underway in Paris between the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.
The meeting at the French Foreign Ministry comes amid scattered violence and uncertainty that the accord will hold — in particular a promised withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line.
Ukraine delayed the pullout Monday, blaming continuing attacks from separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Under a peace agreement reached Feb. 12 by France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, both sides must withdraw their heavy weapons 25 to 70 kilometers (15 to 45 miles) back to create a buffer zone.
The ministers meeting Tuesday in Paris are Laurent Fabius of France, Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Pavlo Klimkin of Ukraine.
A change of pace...
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Lithuania will renew military conscription for the first time since 2008, amid worries over Russian assertiveness in the Baltic region.
The State Defense Council made the decision on February 24.
President Dalia Grybauskaite's office said it was motivated by “the geopolitical situation and threats to the state's security.”
"We must temporarily renew mandatory military service," Grybauskaite told reporters. "The current geopolitical environment requires us to enhance and accelerate army recruitment."
Under the proposal, compulsory military service is to be renewed for a five year period.
Conscription would apply to men between the ages of 19 and 26.
The plan is to draft between 3,000 and 3,500 men each year.
Grybauskaite has made public in recent months her concerns about Russia's aggressive behavior and the potential threat to the Baltic states.
From our news desk:
Russian natural-gas giant Gazprom is threatening to cut off supplies to Ukraine entirely as early as February 26, a move the Russian company says could result in a suspension of supplies to Europe.
Gazprom chief Aleksei Miller said in a February 24 statement that "Ukraine has not made a new prepayment for gas in time."
Miller's statement comes as Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz has accused Gazprom of failing to send all of the gas Ukraine has paid for.
Nafotgaz said on February 23 that it had paid in advance for 114 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas but had received only some 47 mcm.
Gazprom said it is supplying gas to the parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine that are controlled by pro-Russian separatists -- after Kyiv stopped supplying them.
Gazprom said it considers those two regions as being part of the contract with Naftogaz for supplies to Ukraine.
Latest:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Russia of lying over its involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
Kerry was asked on February 24 by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican-South Carolina) whether he agreed that Russia was "lying" when it says there are no Russian troops and weapons in Ukraine. He responded "Yes."
Kerry, speaking at a Senate appropriations subcommittee meeting in Washington, added that the Russians "have been persisting in their misrepresentations, lies, whatever you want to call them, about their activities there [in Ukraine] to my face, to the faces of others, on many different occasions."
Moscow has denied backing separatists in eastern Ukraine in the conflict, which has killed at least 5,600 people.
Kerry said on February 21 that the United States and the EU were considering adding more sanctions against Russia.
The European Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue, former Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, has said the EU is ready to respond with further sanctions if Russia supports further escalation in Ukraine. Speaking to RFE/RL in Brussels, he said the Commission was evaluating its response and would be ready to react to any situation.
