Clashes continue in Ukraine as foreign ministers hold talks

Fighting has continued in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Moscow rebels, as international talks failed to broker a new ceasefire.

The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany met in Berlin yesterday to seek a breakthrough in the crisis, but only agreed on plans for negotiations they hoped would lead to a truce.

The diplomats said in a statement that representatives of Ukraine’s government, the rebels, Russia and the 57-state Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe should meet by Saturday “with the goal of reaching an unconditional and mutually agreed sustainable ceasefire”.

Once the ceasefire is in place, the ministers added, Ukrainian border guards and OSCE observers could visit frontier posts on Russian territory through which Kiev and the West claim fighters and weapons are reaching the rebels.

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko declined to extend a 10-day ceasefire on Monday, after dozens of servicemen were killed and injured in militant attacks during the supposed truce.

Officials say Mr Poroshenko is ready to call a new ceasefire if the separatists also agree to halt attacks, release all their captives, accept talks without conditions and allow Ukrainian forces to retake full control of the porous frontier with Russia, key stretches of which are held by the rebels. The ceasefire and border must be monitored by the OSCE, Kiev insists.

The militants have so far refused to relinquish their frontier posts, however, and separatist leaders have taken different positions on the possibility of a ceasefire and talks with Kiev, with some demanding a full withdrawal of government forces from the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

“The de-escalation of the situation will happen when the peace plan of the Ukrainian president is respected in its totality,” said Kiev’s foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin.

Pressure on Poroshenko

Mr Poroshenko is under pressure from many of his compatriots to crush the insurgency, and much of Ukraine has no trust in Russia, which backed ousted leader Viktor Yanukovich, annexed Crimea and is now widely seen as supporting the rebels, at least two of whose leaders are from Moscow.

Russia denies aiding the militants and accuses Kiev of recklessly attacking civilian areas with airstrikes and artillery.

“In breaking the ceasefire, President Poroshenko made a dramatic mistake. It will cause more casualties. And he is now personally responsible for them,” Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said yesterday. “It will be much more difficult to revive talks. These are the rules of a war.”

The EU broadly supports Ukraine but is deeply divided over whether to go through with a threat to impose tougher sanctions on Russia, which some members fear could jeopardise energy supplies and business ties with Moscow.

“We will not stop looking for diplomatic solutions . . . But we are nowhere near where we want to be,” German chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday. “Regarding sanctions against Russia . . . we cannot rule out having to go further.”

Moscow claims Washington is pushing Mr Poroshenko to take a tough line with the rebels, and is seeking to drive a wedge between Russia and the EU.

Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the US state department, said: “Ukrainian forces have a responsibility to defend their territory and their people. And what they are seeing is aggression by Russian-backed separatists that they have an obligation to respond to.”