LUGANSK(Ukraine): Russian President Vladimir Putin urged on Wednesday a positive outcome to the first international peace talks on Ukraine but also upped the pressure by warning Kiev’s leaders against making any irreversible mistakes.
The veteran strongman’s mixed message came as Kalashnikov-wielding separatists barricaded inside state offices in the Russified east of Ukraine remained locked in a standoff that the country’s police chief said should be resolved within 48 hours but may require the use of force.
A seeming breakthrough in the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War era emerged on Tuesday when US and EU diplomats managed to convince both Moscow and Kiev to come together for four-way negotiations that one source in Brussels said should be held in Vienna on April 17. At stake are not only Ukraine’s territorial integrity and political future but also the fate of the West’s relations with Moscow. Putin signalled that he expected the talks to follow his idea of turning Ukraine into a loose federation whose eastern regions could establish their own diplomatic and trade relations with Russia — a proposal rejected by Kiev. (Agencies)