Belarus to host a new round of Ukraine peace talks

[TheDemSocialist]

Belarus is set to host a new round of Ukrainian peace talks this week.

Envoys from Kiev, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe will attend the talks, which will be held on Wednesday and Friday. The Ukrainian president has issued a statement saying that the dates were discussed in a phone conversation between the French, Russian, and German heads of state. Petro Poroshenko added that the leaders highlighted the need to implement the next steps of a ceasefire plan approved by Kiev and pro-Russian fighters in September. The first round of talks in Minsk produced no concrete results, with the two sides accusing each other of violating the terms of the accord. Ukraine and its Western allies blame Russia for stoking the deadly conflict. But Russia has time and again denied that it is involved in the crisis.

Video @: Belarus to host a new round of Ukraine peace talks

Lets see if this talk will hold. The last talks held for a good amount of time until motor shelling became to much on both sides. It is good news that talks are receptive, but people should take note that Belarus can be seen as an intermediary between both Ukraine and Russia because this county is an ally of both countries. Hopefully some progress can be seen in this round of talks.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Belorussian president Alexander Lukashenko visited Kyiv on Sunday and held private talks with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev did the same on Monday and approved a coal deal with Poroshenko.

Both visiting presidents have publicly stated their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Both fully realize that their nations are vulnerable to Russian expansionism. Their nations are also feeling the effects of Russia's economic woes.

A quote from Nazarbayev after Monday's meeting concerning Ukraine and the European Union:

“Ukraine is closer to Europe (than Russia) and it would have been strange if the two did not work together or strike their association agreement”

In regards to the conflict in eastern Ukraine:

“This is nonsense that should not be happening”

In regards to any continuing talks in Minsk, about all that can be accomplished is a firming up of the current ceasefire. Politically, Kyiv and the pro-Russian rebels are diametrically at odds.

 

[Rogue Valley]

A 5 hour round of talks characterized as "difficult" by rebel envoy Denis Pushilin took place in Minsk on Wednesday (12/24). It is not known if the talks will resume on Friday (12/26).

High on the agenda were negotiations to further pull back heavy weapons and POW swaps.

According to an unofficial source, the cash-strapped rebel governments also petitioned Ukraine to end its financial embargo on the breakaway regions.

 

[Rogue Valley]

According to sources, the government and rebels have agreed to a prisoner swap. 125 government prisoners and 225 rebel prisoners will be exchanged.

 

[Rogue Valley]

146 government soldiers and 222 rebel militia were exchanged yesterday in the town of Avdiyivka which is about 22 miles north of Donetsk. More will be exchanged today.

Rebel militia waiting to be released in Avdiyivka.

A reminder to all. There are roughly 30 Ukrainian military POWs and pro-Kyiv civilians being held prisoner in Russia proper. Despite Ukraine releasing captured Russian paratroopers, Russia refuses to release its captives.

http://www.debatepolitics.com/europe/212840-russia-s-illegal-prisoners-war.html

 

[Fallenangel]

146 government soldiers and 222 rebel militia were exchanged yesterday in the town of Avdiyivka which is about 22 miles north of Donetsk. More will be exchanged today.

Rebel militia waiting to be released in Avdiyivka.

A reminder to all. There are roughly 30 Ukrainian military POWs and pro-Kyiv civilians being held prisoner in Russia proper. Despite Ukraine releasing captured Russian paratroopers, Russia refuses to release its captives.

http://www.debatepolitics.com/europe/212840-russia-s-illegal-prisoners-war.html

Who the hell are you trying to fool?!?

BBC News - Ukraine and Russia exchange captured troops

Fallen.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Who the hell are you trying to fool?!?

BBC News - Ukraine and Russia exchange captured troops

Fallen.

Russia has not released all prisoners captured in Ukraine.

OFFICIAL THE WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE TO
Use all legal means to free ukrainian soldier Nadiya Savchenko, who is a political prisoner of the Kremlin regime.
Response to We the People Petition on Nadiya Savchenko

The United States has repeatedly called for the release of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, most recently on November 12, in remarks delivered at the United Nations by U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. Russia and the separatist proxies it supports committed to 12 points when they signed the Minsk Protocol on September 5. In Point 5 of the Protocol, Russia agreed to immediately free all hostages and illegally held persons. Yet Russia and the separatists it backs continue to hold at least 500 hostages. They include Savchenko, as well as Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, both of whom were captured by separatists on Ukrainian soil and illegally transported against their will to Russia.

We once again call on Russia to release Savchenko, and all hostages and illegally held persons, as well as to fulfill all of the commitments it and the separatists it backs signed up to in Minsk. We have repeatedly made it clear that President Putin has a choice. If he is willing to find a lasting settlement to the conflict in Ukraine within the context of the Minsk agreements and without setting unreasonable conditions, sanctions could be rolled back. If Russia continues to flout its commitments and continue its dangerous and destabilizing actions, then the costs to Russia will continue to rise.

whitehouse.gov

 

[Fallenangel]

Russia has not released all prisoners captured in Ukraine.

Who is talking about all?!? You've claimed the following, and I quote: "There are roughly 30 Ukrainian military POWs and pro-Kyiv civilians being held prisoner in Russia proper. Despite Ukraine releasing captured Russian paratroopers, Russia refuses to release its captives".

Which was shown to be false.

Fallen.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Russia has not released all prisoners captured in Ukraine.

Amnesty International asks for release of pilot Savchenko, film producer Sentsov

September 11, 2014 Interfax

Amnesty International is calling on the Russian authorities to release and return pilot Nadezhda Savchenko and film producer Oleg Sentsov to Ukraine, Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty told a press conference at the Interfax central office on Wednesday.

 

[Gladiator]

"Resumption of the talks was not mentioned.

The talks, between representatives of Ukraine, Russia, pro-Russian separatists from eastern Ukraine and monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, began Wednesday. An agreement on an exchange of prisoners, 225 separatists and 150 Ukrainian troops, the least antagonistic of the issues, was agreed upon quickly. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry gave no reason for Friday's cancellation, but the most contentious issue is arrangement for a 30-kilometer buffer zone between the combatants.

The rebels are also eager to see the resumption of social welfare payments in eastern Ukraine, which the Kiev government believes is being used to finance the separatist movement.

An aide to the separatist side said he was returning to Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, adding there was no point in remaining in Minsk.

The talks were meant to reinforce a peace agreement signed in September which has had little effect on the fighting. Thus far 4,707 have been killed, with 542,080 displaced within Ukraine and 597,956 seeking asylum outside the country, the United Nations said on Dec. 16. "


Read more: Ukraine peace talks in Minsk, Belarus, break down - UPI.com


Ukraine peace talks in Minsk, Belarus, break down - UPI.com


Article seemed like more info.

It seems to me that the multinational corporations were supporting ties with Europe. So are the lower oil/gasoline prices having an effect on the peace process?



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[mango777]

This mess is the usual outcome when the west spreads 'democracy'.. be better if the west shut up for a change I think.

 

[Rogue Valley]

This mess is the usual outcome when the west spreads 'democracy'.. be better if the west shut up for a change I think.

The West didn't invade and illegally annex Crimea.

 

[mango777]

No - the West annexed Ukraine via our carpet-bagging coup, and then lost Crimea to a much smarter foe. Remember Crimea was 'gifted' to Ukraine in 1954 by Russia when part of the USSR. Before this extremely generous piece of paper was signed Crimea and the whole Black sea front of Ukraine was Russian & should have defaulted straight back to Russia when the USSR collapsed but instead the west took complete adavantage of Russia's weakened state in exactly the same way as they did to Germany after WW1..and just like then, now the chickens are coming home to roost. Payback big time - as the petro dollar scam is now on emergency life support & all the excesses of the western world are becoming too costly to maintain. WW3 has already started - it's a case of how far are we going to let it go. The western oligarchs desperately need a huge war so they can wipe their cards clean & start their money-multiplication scam all over again.

Are you willing to die for them? Sounds to me like you are even if you don't know it yourself.

 

[joG]

The West didn't invade and illegally annex Crimea.

Some say we were worse by using treachery and corrupting the young with thoughts of freedom in tweets.

 

[joG]

This mess is the usual outcome when the west spreads 'democracy'.. be better if the west shut up for a change I think.

Nope. I disagree. The present system of shifting relativ power and proliferation are setting the stage for unavoidable world war, if we keep dreaming about how it would be, if people were nice. We need a structural reset of the global system of producing safty for the populations around the world.

 

[Gladiator]

The West didn't invade and illegally annex Crimea.

The US AID and other western agitators created riots in Kiev, and toppled an elected government in Kiev.

USAID | Embassy of the United States Kyiv, Ukraine

The Western Multi national corps were probably active in Ukraine.



https://www.linkedin.com/company/association-of-foreign-investors-in-Ukraine

The lower Oil prices may be a ploy for the Western conglomerates to counteract the Donetsk rebellion.

Crimea is a lost cause.


"DONETSK, Ukraine — Backstage in the Donbas Opera house, Natalia Kovalova is doing her best to maintain a sense of normality amid the chaos that has taken hold in this rebel-held city during the past seven months.

The rumble of artillery shells demolishing what’s left of the city’s airport has become so routine, Donetsk’s residents hardly flinch. Senior citizens who haven’t received their monthly pensions in five months stand in line to collect humanitarian aid packets of food and medicine."

The people of Donetsk trudge along warily under the rebel government | Al Jazeera America

Cease Fire?

"DONETSK, January 1 (Sputnik) — Kiev forces have broken the ceasefire agreement with the independence supporters of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) for about 15 times during the New Year's Eve, the spokesperson for the DPR Ministry of Defense told RIA Novosti Thursday.

"We recorded about 15 violations [of the ceasefire agreement] with the use of small arms. These incidents occurred near the Donetsk airport and the village of Peski, but we expected even more [violations]," the spokesperson said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Donetsk city hall said in a statement that there were no hostilities in Donetsk on the New Year's Eve"

Kiev Violates Ceasefire 15 Times on New Year


Does the West plan to bankrupt Russia to save Donetsk?



//

 

[Rogue Valley]

Does the West plan to bankrupt Russia to save Donetsk?

It's too cold in Siberian oil fields now to turn off the well-pumps. Russia is bankrupting itself.

 

[Gladiator]

It's too cold in Siberian oil fields now to turn off the well-pumps. Russia is bankrupting itself.

Apparently other sectors of the Russian economy depend upon revenues from the sale of oil.

http://www.eia.gov/countries/analysisbriefs/Russia/russia.pdf


Can Russia shift to have other sectors to be self-supporting, as oil prices go down?

If Russia decreases oil supply, would the decrease inm production increase the price of oil, to make up for he lost reveue from cutting production?

Can Russia back out of Donetsk?


"(Reuters) - Russian forces are still operating in eastern Ukraine, providing the backbone of separatist rebels fighting the Kiev government, NATO's top military commander said on Wednesday after talks with Ukrainian leaders.

U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, visiting Kiev as head of U.S. forces in Europe, said Russia's "militarization" of the Crimea peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in March meant Moscow could exert influence over almost the entire Black Sea region.

Breedlove met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and others in the pro-Western leadership to discuss ways the United States could assist Kiev's defense potential in the conflict with Russian-backed separatists in eastern territories."

Russian troops giving 'backbone' to Ukraine rebels: NATO commander | Reuters

Would the West cut oil production, (and let prices come back up), if Russia backed out of Donetsk?




//

 

[Gladiator]

The West didn't invade and illegally annex Crimea.

The steps for Russia to back out of Donetsk.

Instruct Russian troops to enforce a cease fire for the Rebels.

Instruct the Russian troops to remove military weapons from Ukraine/Donetsk.

Instruct the Russian troops to supervise the Donetsk Rebels to learn and follow civilian policing procedures.

Instruct the Russian troops to supervise the coordination with Ukrainian justice and detention authorities.

Draw down the number of Russian Troops inside Donetsk, Ukraine.

//

 

[Rogue Valley]

Apparently other sectors of the Russian economy depend upon revenues from the sale of oil.

Russia is an economic 'petro-state'.

If Russia decreases oil supply, would the decrease in production increase the price of oil, to make up for he lost revenue from cutting production?

Any cut in Russian production is more than offset by OPEC production levels and US fracking.

Can Russia back out of Donetsk?

Certainly. They pulled in, they can also pull out. However, such a decision is somewhat dependent on how it would be viewed by the Russian populace. The Kremlin is adverse to being viewed internally as weak and conciliatory.

Would the West cut oil production, (and let prices come back up), if Russia backed out of Donetsk?

OPEC is not equivalent to the 'West'.