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Putin, Poroshenko Begin One-To-One Talks In Minsk

August 26, 2014

by RFE/RL

MINSK -- Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko have begun direct one-on-one talks in Minsk about the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

A Kremlin spokesman and Ukraine’s presidential administration confirmed the talks were underway late on August 26.

Lukashenka announced the development after hosting four hours of multilateral talks in Minsk that included Putin, Poroshenko, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev

Poroshenko said at the start of those talks that the leaders were "deciding the fate of the world and Europe."

He also said the only way to end bloodshed in eastern Ukraine was to build effective border controls with Russia, halt the supply of weapons to pro-Russian separatists, and release prisoners of war.

Poroshenko also said international monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe should be given free access in eastern Ukraine.

Putin said Ukraine's crisis "cannot be solved by further escalation of the military scenario, without taking into account vital interests of the southeastern regions of the country, and without a peaceful dialogue" between Kyiv and the separatists.

After Putin and Poroshenko began their direct one-on-one talks, Lukashenka said the mulitlateral meeting had been difficult because the Russian and Ukrainian positions differed -- sometimes fundamentally.

Emerging from a dinner in Minsk attended by all of the leaders at the summit, Lukashenka said "the situation in Ukraine has deteriorated to such an extent that no agreements on a political level can bring about a solution."

But he said Putin and Poroshenko had greed on the need for de-escalating the crisis.

Ashton told reporters that her mission in Minsk was to "try and support the people of Ukraine to find peace and security, [and] to ensure that they are able to enjoy territorial integrity -- a future that is economically viable."

The Minsk meetings came after Ukraine's military alleged that Russian forces, disguised as separatists, had crossed from Russia with 10 tanks on August 25.

Spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the Russian tank column was stopped after a battle against Ukrainian forces outside the town of Novoazovsk on the Sea of Azov -- despite what he alleged was support from Russian artillery fired from across the border.

Lysenko also said 10 Russian servicemen captured in the battle were in Ukraine on a "special mission."

Ukraine's military also released a video on August 26 showing captured paratroopers from Russia's 98th Airborne Division.

In the footage, a man who identifies himself as Corporal Ivan Milchakov from the 331st Parachute Regiment admits crossing into Ukraine in an armored column "not along the roads but across the fields."

The man said they'd been informed by their military commanders back in Russia that they would be going into Ukraine on a three-day mission but were not told their exact objectives.

Another man in the video, named Ivan Romantsev, said the identification markings on their tanks were painted for what the soldiers were told were "training exercises."

Russian Defense Ministry officials admitted on August 26 for the first time that Russian soldiers had crossed into Ukrainian territory. But they claimed the soldiers were on patrol and had accidentally crossed an unmarked section of the border.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, ITAR-TASS, and Interfax

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-russia-minsk-talks-start/26551135.html

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Putin, Poroshenko Begin One-To-One Talks In Minsk