17:01
31.3.2014
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that measures are needed to remove what a statement described as the "blockade" on Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, in the Moldovan capital on March 30, pledged $10 million "to support Moldovan border security efforts...on top of money that we have been providing for a number of years to support nonproliferation objectives and security objectives on the borders."
"This is not a blockade by any means," Nuland added, saying that "commerce and trade is continuing..."
In a phone call to U.S. President Barack Obama on March 28, Putin reportedly suggested Transdniester's border was being blockaded by Ukraine or Moldova.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, in the Moldovan capital on March 30, pledged $10 million "to support Moldovan border security efforts...on top of money that we have been providing for a number of years to support nonproliferation objectives and security objectives on the borders."
"This is not a blockade by any means," Nuland added, saying that "commerce and trade is continuing..."
In a phone call to U.S. President Barack Obama on March 28, Putin reportedly suggested Transdniester's border was being blockaded by Ukraine or Moldova.
17:12
31.3.2014
From the wires via our newsroom:
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Ukraine needs constitutional reforms to protect the interests of residents of the country's different regions. A statement on March 31 said the two leaders discussed by telephone "various aspects of the situation in Ukraine, including the possibilities of international assistance to restore stability.” A spokesman for Merkel said Putin had told the chancellor about a partial withdrawal of Russian troops who have been deployed on Russia's side of the Russia-Ukraine border. The spokesman added that the two leaders also talked about further steps to "stabilize" the situation in Ukraine and in Moldova's Russian-speaking separatist region of Transdniester. Putin has previously spoken of the need to protect the interests of ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers in Ukraine, predominantly in the east and south. Merkel has condemned Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula as a violation of international law.
17:31
31.3.2014
"We have information that the Russian Federation is carrying out unfathomable maneuvers on the borders with Ukraine -- in some border places they are taking away troops, in others they are coming closer. Such actions cannot fail to cause concern, especially since we today do not have a clear explanation from the Russian Federation about the aims of these movements." -- Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Evhen Perebiynis via Reuters
17:42
31.3.2014
A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman mocks Russia's suggestion that Kyiv must "federalize" Ukraine by saying Ukraine is prepared to provide Moscow with a proposal to federalize Russia and introduce five to 10 official languages.
Via RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:
Via RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:
17:46
31.3.2014
Reuters and AFP report that Russia's Defense Ministry says it is withdrawing a motorized infantry battalion from a region near Russia's western border with Ukraine. The ministry said the battalion had ended maneuvers in the southern Rostov region and was heading back to its base in the Samarra region on the Volga River. There was no information on the number of troops involved.
Earlier today, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Russia appeared to be reducing the number of its troops on the border. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the reported reduction seemed to be "a small signal that the situation is becoming less tense."
Russia in the past month massed tens of thousands of soldiers on its border with Ukraine, raising concerns that after annexing Crimea it might invade other parts of Ukraine.
Earlier today, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Russia appeared to be reducing the number of its troops on the border. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the reported reduction seemed to be "a small signal that the situation is becoming less tense."
Russia in the past month massed tens of thousands of soldiers on its border with Ukraine, raising concerns that after annexing Crimea it might invade other parts of Ukraine.
18:51
31.3.2014
Three broadcasters in the Donetsk region still have not complied with a court order that they suspend their retransmission of Russian broadcasts, our Ukrainian Service reports, quoting a senior official at the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine.
19:12
31.3.2014
Some Crimeans have appealed to Kyiv for support to ensure the continued publication of what's billed as the only Ukrainian-language newspaper in Crimea. The RFE/RL Ukrainian Service's Crimea website reports that there are fears among Ukrainian speakers on the peninsula that "Krymska Svitlytsya's" operations will be interrupted under the unrecognized Russian annexation.
A leader of ethnic Ukrainians in Crimea says closure would be "equivalent to the cessation of thought in Ukrainian Crimea."
The paper was launched in 1992 and shuttered in 2010 before reappearing six months later as an online publication.
A leader of ethnic Ukrainians in Crimea says closure would be "equivalent to the cessation of thought in Ukrainian Crimea."
The paper was launched in 1992 and shuttered in 2010 before reappearing six months later as an online publication.
20:00
31.3.2014
Among the things that NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told RFE/RL today in Brussels, ahead of tomorrow's NATO foreign ministers meeting:
"We have agreed with Ukraine to strengthen our cooperation within our NATO-Ukraine partnership within the NATO-Ukraine Commission and tomorrow we will have a political level meeting in the NATO-Ukraine Commission and I expect assistance to be made as to how we can further develop our partnership with Ukraine."
20:35
31.3.2014
Vitali Klitschko's UDAR party quotes Serhiy Kunitsyn, a former Crimean prime minister, as saying his son was detained by "separatist" forces at Simferopol's train station and possibly taken for questioning by Russian security service (FSB) officers. The report is being quoted by "Ukrayinska pravda."
21:06
31.3.2014
Barring major developments, that concludes our live-blogging for March 31.