Kerry raises ‘strong concerns’ over Russian troop build-up

US secretary of state John Kerry said late last night that he and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, discussed suggestions for de-escalating the Ukraine crisis during four hours of talks in Paris.

Mr Kerry told a news conference after the talks that the US made clear it still considered Russian actions in Crimea to be “illegal and illegitimate”.

He said he had also raised "strong concerns" about the presence of Russian troops on the Ukraine border, which he said created a climate of fear and intimidation. The talks began against a backdrop of anger in Kiev at proposals made by Moscow and Washington sent Nato's top military commander back to Europe early to monitor the threat from tens of thousands of Russian troops that western intelligence says are gathered near Ukraine's border.

The Pentagon said US defence secretary Chuck Hagel considered Philip Breedlove's early return from Washington to be "the prudent thing to do, given the lack of transparency and intent from Russian leadership about their military movements across the border".

"More broadly, he felt it was important for Gen Breedlove to continue our efforts to consult with Nato allies and to discuss specific ways to provide additional reassurance for our Nato allies in eastern Europe," it said.

Allied commander
Gen Breedlove is Nato's Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the head of the US military's European Command. He said last week that Russian forces on Ukraine's eastern border were "very, very sizeable and very, very ready".

Ahead of their Paris meeting, Mr Lavrov told Russian state television: “We have absolutely no intention and no interest in crossing the Ukrainian border.” He claimed Moscow and western powers were “getting closer in our positions” on Ukraine. The Kremlin sent troops into mostly ethnic-Russian Crimea and annexed it after claiming “fascist” supporters of Ukraine’s new pro-western government were a danger to the country’s tens of millions of Russian-speakers.

"If our western partners are ready, then Russia, the United States and the European Union could form a support group on Ukraine and formulate shared appeals to those now in power in Kiev," Mr Lavrov said in his television interview.

He called for “deep constitutional reform” in Ukraine that would give each region broad control over its economy, finances, culture, language, education and “external economic and cultural connections with neighbouring countries or regions”.

"Given the proportion of native Russians [in Ukraine] we propose this and we are sure there is no other way . . . Frankly speaking, we don't see any other way for the steady development of the Ukrainian state apart from as a federation."

Federation
Ukrainian officials and many analysts say a federation would be a disaster for Kiev, and would simply allow Russia to play an even stronger role than it already does in eastern and southern Ukraine, leading to the possible disintegration of the state.

“The patronising and ultimatum-style tone of these pronouncements proves that, like a real aggressor, Russia has no need for a settlement,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry’s information department said.

“Under the barrels of its guns this aggressor wants only one thing – the total surrender of Ukraine, its division and the destruction of Ukrainian sovereignty.” Across Ukraine, people rallied yesterday in memory of more than 100 protesters killed during the protests.

In annexed Crimea, meanwhile, pro-Russian demonstrators celebrated the Black Sea peninsula’s switch to the same time zone as Moscow.

Leaders of the native Tatar population, which makes up about 12 per cent of a two million population, voted on Saturday to press for “ethnic and territorial autonomy in Crimea.” The Tatars oppose Russian rule, having been exiled en masse during the Soviet era. – (additional reporting Reuters)