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Putin proposes seven-point ceasefire plan

Putin proposes seven-point ceasefire plan

4 September 2014

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a seven-point plan on Sept. 3 to lead to a ceasefire in the war in the Donbas region, reported the ITAR-TASS news agency. He called for both sides in the conflict to agree immediately and implement its points in coordination. He said he hopes his plan will be approved at the trilateral contact group that will meet on Sept. 5 in Minsk.

 

The points are (1) ceasing active offensive operations of armed formations of the militias in the direction of Donetsk and Luhansk, (2) withdrawing the armed subunits of Ukraine’s Armed Forces to a distance that removes the possibility of artillery and multiple rocket fire on population centers, (3) ensuring quality intentional control of upholding ceasefire conditions and monitoring, (4) forbidding the use of military aviation against peaceful citizens and population centers, (5) organizing an unconditional exchange of all hostages, (6) creating a corridor to transfer refugees and humanitarian aid, and (7) ensuring the ability to dispatch repair crews to damaged population centers to renew ruined infrastructure.

 

Putin discussed the ceasefire with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko in a telephone conversation the early morning of Sept. 3. The Presidential Administration of Ukraine’s press service initially reported that a ceasefire agreement was reached. Yet that statement was clarified by its Russian counterpart, which stated that although a ceasefire was discussed, no agreement was reached. In addition, Russia can only try to use its influence on the militias but can’t decide for them, claimed Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “Russia can’t physically agree to a ceasefire since it’s not a side in the conflict,” he said.

 

That afternoon, Ukraine’s Presidential Administration clarified that it was a “ceasefire regime” that was agreed upon. Poroshenko added his own suggestions to the ceasefire plan, which consists of mutual requirements to adhere to a bilateral ceasefire, its monitoring by the OSCE, removing all foreign armies from Ukrainian territory, introducing a buffer border zone and freeing all hostages and citizens of Ukraine, illegally held on Russian territory.

 

Poroshenko said he has “large hopes” the trilateral contact group will apply real steps to achieve peace during its Sept. 5 meeting, his press-service reported on Wednesday. “The people of Ukraine are 100 percent for it, while the politicos want to play war,” he said. “But I want to say that I won’t allow them to do that. We are supposed to fight for peace together.”

 

Putin’s seven-point ceasefire plan resembles a rescue plan for the pro-Russian terrorists and is aimed at creating a frozen conflict zone in the Donbas region, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Sept. 3 in a statement posted on the Cabinet website. “This latest plan is a whitewashing attempt for the international community ahead of the NATO summit and an attempt to avoid the inevitable EU decisions imposing a new wave of sanctions,” he said. “Putin’s real plan is to detroy Ukraine and to renew the U.S.S.R.”

 

Yatsenyuk said he doesn’t trust any plan offered by Putin. “All earlier agreements coordinated with Russia – Geneva, Normandy, Berlin and Minsk – were either simply ignored by the Russian regime or flagrantly violated.” The best plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine consists of only a single point: Russia removes its regular army, mercenaries and terrorists from Ukrainian territory, he said.

 

Putin’s seven-point ceasefire plan isn’t genuine, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the BBC news service on Sept. 3. “I think in essence, the Russian aren’t genuinely interested in a ceasefire,” he said. “They are continuing to destabilize eastern Ukraine.”

 

Zenon Zawada: Putin’s ceasefire plan has no prospects, simply based on the way it casts the Ukrainian government as the aggressor and forces upon it major concessions that could be damaging, such as renewing the cynical corridors that have resulted in dozens, if not hundreds, of deaths of Ukrainians by Russian soldiers.

 

Poroshenko is committed to a diplomatic solution, which the Russians are taking full advantage of. Without a military option to challenge the Russians, Poroshenko is constantly being backed into a corner. If Poroshenko agrees to a “frozen conflict” scenario, as characterized by Yatsenyuk, he risks losing popular support, despite his insistence that Ukrainians want peace above all. Yet even more importantly, he risks a repeat of the Crimean scenario, in which the Russians consolidate control of one territory and then encroach upon the next, in this case, Zaporizhia and Kherson, several months down the road.

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