In his first press conference since the beginning of the new Ukraine
crisis, Vladimir Putin has called the change of government in Kiev an
"unconstitutional overthrow and an armed seizure of power."
Speaking at his residence in Moscow, Putin said Viktor Yanukovych is
still Ukraine's legitimate president. He said he understood the
Ukrainian people's need for change but that illegal change couldn't be
encouraged.
Putin also said that Russia's use of force in Ukraine was a choice of
last resort, but he reserved the right to use all means to protect
Russians in Ukraine.
As for Crimea, Putin said it is up to its citizens to determine their
own future. This doesn’t bode well for non-Russians in Crimea, given
that a referendum on the future of the peninsula has been announced by
the local pro-Moscow authorities for the end of this month.
Putin’s declarations pour cold water on the expectations of Western
politicians that a compromise might be found in the short term.
Meanwhile, on the backdrop of the standoff between Ukrainian troops
and Russian forces in Crimea, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived
in Kiev for consultations with the new Ukrainian government. He will be
followed on Wednesday by the chief of the EU diplomacy Catherine
Ashton, who met today in Madrid with the Russian foreign minister Sergei
Lavrov.
A whole flurry of diplomacy is taking place, not only around Ukraine,
but also around the only other two countries of the Eastern Partnership
that haven’t yet fallen back into Russia’s lap: Moldova and Georgia.
The Moldovan premier Iurie Leanca was in Washington on Monday, meeting
both president Barack Obama and the state secretary John Kerry, before
Kerry flew to Ukraine, while, on the EU side, enlargement commissioner
Štefan Füle travelled to Georgia, in a flurry of shuttle diplomacy meant
to show Russia that the West is drawing a line around the last bastions
of what was meant to be the Easter Partnership.
In Geneva, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said there
was no "solution is in sight" on the Ukraine crisis. He was speaking
after what he said was a "difficult" discussion with Russian counterpart
Sergei Lavrov.
An unprecedented reaction came from Kazakhstan, where the foreign
ministry published on its website a declaration stating that:
“Kazakhstan is deeply concerned with the current developments in
Ukraine. Further escalation of tensions may lead to unpredictable
consequences at both regional and global levels.
The declaration goes on to say that “the resolution of the crisis
should be based on respect towards the fundamental principles of
international law”. Until now, obedient Kazakhstan, which is part,
together with Belarus, of Russia’s Customs Union, has systematically
refrained from criticising Russia, even at the height of the Chechen
wars, when Russia was briefly sanctioned by the Council of Europe by
having its voting right suspended in the year 2000.
At the EU level, an emergency meeting of the 28 leaders will take
place on Thursday (6 March) to discuss possible sanctions on Russia, but
these will be hard to be decided. David Cameron is not keen on imposing
economic sanctions on Russia, given the importance of Russian oligarchs
for the City of London. London is a key hub for Russian investment,
which may make officials reluctant to impose sanctions that would halt
the flow of money.
A UK government briefing document photographed as an adviser carried
it on Monday said Britain "should not support, for now, trade sanctions
... or close London's financial centre to Russians," but would support
visa restrictions and travel bans. The document said UK will also
“discourage any discussions of contingency military preparations”, which
empties of any substance the North Atlantic Council meeting taking
place at NATO’s HQ in Brussels, on tuesday, at Poland's request for
Article 4 consultations. Under article 4 of the Treaty, any ally can
request consultations whenever, in the opinion of any of them, their
territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
But Russia is also tightening its grip on Ukraine economically, not
only militarily. In Moscow, the Gazprom chief Aleksei Miller said Russia
intended to end the gas-price discount for Ukraine offered to
Yanukovych starting in April.
According to Miller, Ukraine told Gazprom on Monday it couldn't pay for its February gas allotment in full.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that "those
who don't pay for goods supplied must understand they will face
consequences."
In Kiev, John Kerry is preparing to announce $1 billion in energy aid in economic package to Ukraine.
(March 4, 2014)