THE TELEGRAPH
By Harriet Alexander
02/04/2014
Western diplomatic sources told The Telegraph that the emphasis was firmly on trying to de-escalate the crisis and avoid a repeat of the provocations that led to the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.
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Obama, CIA set the stage for WWIII |
The source described an international full-court press to put a lid on the Ukraine situation, involving the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) diplomacy watchdog, and the EU Foreign Affairs Council which will called an emergency meeting for Monday.
Sanctions of the kind that targeted the Ukrainian elite deemed responsible for the bloodshed earlier this month remained “on the table”, the source added, while cautioning that Western governments were still waiting to see the actual import of the Russian troop authorization.
“We’re watching what Russia is doing with a degree of nervousness, very mindful of what happened in Georgia and trying not do anything that might precipitate some Russian action that all sides would be regrettable for all sides.”
19.43 More detail from Kiev.
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Obama blowjobberall McCain bites off more than he can chew |
Standing beside Mr Turchinov, Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said he had urged Russia to return its troops to base in the Crimea region during a phone call with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and called for talks.
"Military intervention would be the beginning of war and the end of any relations between Ukraine and Russia," Yatsenyuk told reporters.
19.33 UKRAINE'S PRIME MINISTER SAYS MILITARY INTERVENTION WOULD LEAD TO WAR AND END TO ANY RELATIONS WITH MOSCOW
UKRAINE'S PRIME MINISTER SAYS RUSSIAN FORCES MUST RETURN TO BASE
19.23 AFP - Ukraine's army put on alert: interim president
19.21 UKRAINE'S ACTING PRESIDENT SAYS NO BASIS FOR RUSSIA'S ACT OF AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE
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Yet another ludicrous Obama "red line": White House criminals say Russia, Putin "will pay" for CIA engineered fascist coup |
19.16 Oh dear... This from Maxim Eristavi, a journalist specialising in Ukraine.
19.00 The reaction to Putin's approval for military action is coming thick and fast now.
• From the EU - Catherine Ashton, foreign policy chief, says the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected.
• From Nato - Anders Fogh Rasmussen says Russia must respect Ukraine's sovereignty, including with regard to troop movements.
• From UN - Ban ki-Moon says he is "gravely concerned" and will talk to Putin shortly
• From the Czech republic - Milos Zeman, the president, recalled 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia and warned against creating "a deep ditch which cannot be filled for a generation."
• From the UK - David Cameron told Moscow there is "no excuse" for military intervention in Ukraine as he reiterated warnings that the "world is watching".
• From France - Francois Hollande urges the avoidance of "a highly dangerous escalation."
• From Germany - Angela Merkel said what is happening in Crimea was cause for concern.
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Moon: "Preeze... PREEZE NOT ANOTHER RED RINE!" |
18.58 RUSSIAN PARLAIMENTARY SPEAKER TELLS UKRAINE'S LEADER MOSCOW COULD RESPOND MILITARILY IF UKRAINE USES FORCE AGAINST PEACEFUL CITIZENS IN EAST AND CRIMEA - URKAINE PARLIAMENT WEBSITE
18.53 Breaking (unconfirmed) news from Simferopol, capital of Crimea:
18.46 As we await the start of the UN Security Council meeting, take a look at this table - made by @MrHalimi - comparing the economic and military might of Ukraine versus Russia.
David and Goliath indeed.
18.22 Reuters - US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke on Saturday with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, a US official told Reuters, as Russian President Vladimir Putin secured his parliament's authority to invade Ukraine.
Asked about rumors some US military units had been on alert over turmoil in the Crimean peninsula, the official said the US focus was on diplomatic options. There was no change in the US military's stance, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
18.21 Latest figures from Kharkiv, where pro-Russia protesters have been fighting pro-West demonstrators.
Interfax news agency says that 97 people were injured.
18.11 A Telegraph reader has just called in with an interesting tip.
His cousin lives in the town of Zaporizhia - a city 230 miles north of the Crimean capital of Simferopol.
She says that Ukranian television is showing footage of a single column of Russian forces moving past the town.
Interesting if true. We don't have any more details, but will bring you them as we get them.
18.03 This striking image from Kharkiv shows the moment the Russian flag is raised.
17.50 In eastern Ukraine, protesters have raised the Russian flag in Kharkiv.
Dozens of people are hurt in clashes, as pro-Russia activists storm the regional government's headquarters.
17.40 For all our readers in the United States: tomorrow, Marco Rubio, the Republican Senator for Florida and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, will be on the morning chat show Meet The Press.
We're told he's going to say that “Putin's invasion of Ukraine requires immediate and decisive US leadership”
Russia's illegal military incursion in the Crimea region in Ukraine is a grave violation of a nation's sovereignty and cannot go unpunished. First, President Obama should speak unequivocally and call this what it is: a military invasion. … Second, President Obama should dispatch Secretary Kerry and Secretary Hagel to Kiev to show U.S. support for Ukraine's transitional government … Third, the U.S. should rally our allies to boycott this June's G8 summit in Sochi …
[I]f Russian troops do not leave Ukraine immediately, Russia should be expelled from this group. Fourth, any and all discussions and negotiations with Moscow on any issue unrelated to this crisis, including trade and other matters, should be immediately suspended. … This is a critical moment in world history. The credibility of the alliances and security assurances that have preserved the international order is at stake. If Putin's illegal actions are allowed to stand unpunished, it will usher in a dark and dangerous era in world affairs.
17.25 Oh my word.
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Redneck psycho Sarah Palin |
Yes, I could see this one from Alaska.
I'm usually not one to Told-Ya-So, but I did, despite my accurate prediction being derided as “an extremely far-fetched scenario” by the “high-brow” Foreign Policy magazine.
Here’s what this “stupid” “insipid woman” predicted back in 2008: "After the Russian Army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama's reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalence, the kind of response that would only encourage Russia's Putin to invade Ukraine next."
17.15 Michael McFaul was, until Wednesday, America's ambassador to Russia.
The Washington Post has this retrospective of his time as the White House's man in Moscow.
He's taken up a new role as a lecturer at Stanford University - and is free to speak his mind.
17.10 The Russian ambassador to the UK has been summoned to the Foreign Office.
William Hague has issued another statement:
I am deeply concerned at the escalation of tensions in Ukraine, and the decision of the Russian parliament to authorise military action on Ukrainian soil against the wishes of the Ukrainian Government.
We condemn any act of aggression against Ukraine.
He advised all British nationals to leave Crimea immediately by all practical means.
17.05 That brief moment of calm didn't last long.
BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY WILLIAM HAGUE SAYS RUSSIAN ACTION IN UKRAINE IS "POTENTIALLY GRAVE THREAT" TO SOVEREIGNTY, INDEPENDENCE AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
17.01 After all the drama - a note of calm from Putin's spokesman.
Dmitry Peskov says the Russian president has not yet decided whether to deploy Russian troops in Ukraine.
After the decision by the Federation Council, the president has received the full arsenal of means needed to resolve the situation, in terms of using (military) forces and in terms of taking decisions about (withdrawing) the head of our diplomatic mission in the United States.
At the same time, it's necessary to underscore that the president has not yet taken either decision. These decisions have not yet been taken.
The news agency Interfax also cited Mr Peskov as saying that the Kremlin hopes that there will be no further escalation of the crisis.
16.51 Photographer and videographer David Rose ask Ukrainian citizens in Kiev's Independence Square, the Maidan, for their reaction to Vladimir Putin's move to get permission for sending.
16.46 At the heart of Vladimir Putin's aggressive posturing today is his wish to retain influence in Ukraine's Crimea region.
So it's worthwhile re-reading this story from earlier in the week, about why the Crimea matters - and why it is such a volatile region.
Ukraine crisis: Crimea is a tinderbox of divided loyalties as Putin flexes his muscles
16.41 Away from Moscow, Kiev and the UN in New York; the situation in the east of Ukraine is tense.
Some estimates suggest 10,000 people were on the streets of Donetsk.
In Kharkiv, pro-West demonstrators - including children - were attacked.