Russian aid convoy to enter Ukraine but no sign of ceasefire

Russia has said all issues related to it sending a humanitarian convoy to Ukraine had been resolved but said no progress has been made in talks toward a ceasefire or political solution to the fighting in the east of the country.

Following talks in Berlin between Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine yesterday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said "all questions have been resolved...regarding the humanitarian issue."

But he added, at a news conference in Berlin: “We are not able to report on positive results on reaching a ceasefire and on the political process.”

Mr Lavrov met his Ukrainian counterpart Pavlo Klimkin for more than five hours of talks, seeking to ease tension after officials in Kiev said troops had destroyed part of an armored column from Russia.

His view of the talks was in contrast to some of the other parties involved.

“It was a difficult conversation,” German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters after the talks, which ended shortly before midnight.

“I hope and I believe that we made progress on a few points” and the governments will decide today or tomorrow whether to pursue the talks, he said.

European leaders are pushing to halt the conflict that’s killed more than 2,000 people and fractured Ukraine since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in March.

The conflict, which Ukraine and its allies say is being fueled by Russia’s support for the rebels, has also touched off sanctions that have hurt trade and threatened to send Russian president Vladimir Putin’s economy into a recession.

The Red Cross had demanded safety guarantees before it began inspecting the first 16 trucks of a convoy Russia says is carrying humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine agreed to let the aid cross the border into territory held by Russian-backed separatists under supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which said it hadn't received the safety guarantees it needs.

The Russian mission of about 275 trucks will proceed through a border checkpoint after which the ICRC will inspects and distribute it. "We need guarantees from all sides involved in the process," Red Cross spokeswoman Galina Balzamova told reporters in Rostov, Russia. "Once we get the guarantees of security, an inspection will start."

She said talks with Russian, Ukrainian and rebel officials will continue today and that 20 Red Cross workers had come to Russia’s Rostov region to join the inspections.

Anatoliy Makarenko, head of Ukraine’s state customs service, said once inspected, the cargo would be taken in by the Red Cross in batches of 30 trucks each.

Mr Steinmeier said Ukraine and Russia discussed a "badly needed" ceasefire in talks last night that also included French foreign minister Laurent Fabius.

Russia’s foreign ministry had said that there had been some progress.

Mr Klimkin used Twitter to thank his German and French counterparts for their support and said Ukraine hadn't crossed any of the "red lines" it's set itself.

The meeting in Berlin may be a first step toward a new peace summit, French president Francois Hollande’s office said in a statement.

Mr Steinmeier said “the real drama” was that previous agreements between Ukraine, Russia and the rebels hadn’t been met.

In Luhansk, a city of more than 400,000 where Ukrainian forces are trying to encircle the separatist rebels, residents went for its 15th day without power and water, the City Council said on its website.

Ukrainian forces said they’d raised the national flag over a police station in the city, Reuters reported.

In Donetsk, where population is more than double that of Luhansk, the city council urged residents to store water because the main supply line had been damaged and would be shut off. The council reported shelling across the city today. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled both cities to escape fighting.

Agencies