September 15, 2017

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Poland drops controversial passport plan

WARSAW – Poland’s government says it is abandoning a plan to include images in Polish passports of landmarks that are now within the borders of Ukraine and Lithuania. The passport plan had angered both Ukraine and Lithuania, with the government in Kyiv calling it an “unfriendly step that will have a negative impact on the development of the Ukraine-Polish strategic partnership.” The Polish government’s proposal appeared to break a longstanding practice of not making any claim, even symbolic, to territories Poland lost in the redrawing of borders during the 20th century. The disputed images were of a Polish military cemetery in Lviv and the 16th century Gate of Dawn in Vilnius – one of the most important religious, historical and cultural monuments in the Lithuanian capital. Polish Internal Affairs Minister Mariusz Blaszczak says his ministry has picked other images to include in place of the two disputed ones. The new passports are due to be introduced in 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining its independence after more than a century of foreign rule. The pages of the new passports will feature background images of 26 national symbols. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by AP and usnews.com)

Putin on peacekeepers in conflict zone

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled his willingness to look into the idea of deploying United Nations peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine, not only along the conflict line separating Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists, but also in other areas where monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) work. The Kremlin said Mr. Putin made the comments in a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on September 11. “Vladimir Putin elaborated on the Russian initiative to set up a U.N. mission to facilitate the guarding of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM),” the Kremlin said. “In light of thoughts voiced by Angela Merkel, the Russian leader indicated a readiness to update the functions of the aforementioned U.N. mission in the Russia-sponsored draft resolution of the Security Council.” It added, “It is intended that U.N. peacekeepers could guard OSCE observers not only on the line of contact following the disengagement of both parties’ forces and hardware, but in other locations as well, where the OSCE SMM [Special Monitoring Mission] pays its inspection visits.” In a statement, the German Chancellery said Mr. Putin “agreed to remove the previous limitation of deployment of the planned U.N. mission” after Ms. Merkel pointed out that “changes in the mandate were necessary.” On September 5, Mr. Putin had called for the deployment of lightly armed peacekeepers to protect OSCE observers monitoring the conflict in eastern Ukraine. But he indicated that the peacekeepers would operate only along the front line separating Ukrainian government forces and separatists. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax)

Poroshenko on purposes of peacekeepers

KYIV – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says that the purpose of a proposed U.N.-mandated peacekeeping mission in war-torn eastern Ukrainian must be to foster peace, not to cement what he called “Russia’s occupation” of a chunk of his country. Mr. Poroshenko spoke in an annual address to the Verkhovna Rada on September 7, two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the deployment of lightly armed peacekeepers to protect OSCE observers monitoring the conflict. Russia has indicated that, under its plan, the peacekeepers would operate only along the frontline separating Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists. Russia also says that the plan should be subject to approval by the separatists. Mr. Poroshenko said the mission should patrol the whole conflict zone, including the border between Russia and the separatist-held parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which Kyiv says is used to ship weapons and military personnel in from Russia. “Its purpose should not be the preservation of Russia’s occupation and the legalization of the Russian military presence, but a durable peace,” Mr. Poroshenko said. He called Mr. Putin’s proposal “strange,” but said that Ukraine is ready to discuss any proposal at the United Nations. The conflict has killed more than 10,000 civilians and combatants in eastern Ukraine since it erupted in April 2014, after Russia seized control of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and fomented separatism across large parts of the country. The war has persisted despite a European-brokered agreement on a ceasefire and steps to peace that was signed by Ukraine, Russia and the “separatists” in February 2015. (RFE/RL, with reporting by AFP and UNIAN)

Sentsov moved to another Siberian jail 

IRKUTSK, Russia – Ukrainian writer and filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who is jailed in Russia over his opposition to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, has been transferred from a penal colony in Yakutsk to a notorious detention center in the city of Irkutsk, some 1,900 kilometers away. Lawyers and members of the Public Monitoring Commission in Angara, who visited Mr. Sentsov in Detention Center No. 1 in Irkutsk, said on September 11 that he was in solitary confinement in the jail’s basement. Lawyer Svyatoslav Khromenkov told RFE/RL that the Irkutsk detention center was considered one of the worst jails in Siberia, but he added that Mr. Sentsov’s cell was recently repaired and was “more or less OK.” Mr. Khromenkov said Mr. Sentsov did not know why he was moved so far. He suggested Mr. Sentsov may have been transferred to prevent him from staying at one detention facility long enough to establish himself there. Inmates in the former Soviet Union are typically moved from one detention facility to another in so-called Stolypin train carriages that are specially equipped for the transportation of convicts. Transfers from one jail to another, especially long-distance transfers, typically have been used to put pressure on some inmates. Convicts are forced to spend days in narrow cages inside the train cars, which very often are jammed with people. There often is no fresh air nor the possibility to use a toilet on the train. Long distances are covered in many days because Stolypin trains are only allowed to move during certain hours, usually at night. That means prisoners are kept either inside the railroad cars at stations or in transit jails, making such trips long and exhausting. Mr. Sentsov, a native of Crimea who opposed Russia’s seizure and annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula, is currently serving a 20-year prison term on terrorism charges. He and international human rights groups say the charges are politically motivated. Mr. Sentsov was arrested in May 2014 on suspicion of planning the fire bombings of pro-Russian organizations in Crimea. A Russian court convicted him on multiple terrorism charges in August 2014. He has denied all charges against him, saying that a “trial by occupiers cannot be fair by definition.” (RFE/RL’s Russian Service)

Jailed activist facing abuse, mother says

PRAGUE – An activist who is serving time over Internet posts criticizing Russia’s actions in Ukraine is being mistreated in prison, her mother says. Darya Polyudova’s mother, Tatyana Polyudova, told RFE/RL on September 7 that her daughter went on a hunger strike on August 31 to protest conditions at the prison where she is being held but had to stop after several days due to medical problems. The prison director had warned Ms. Polyudova that she would be forcibly fed if she did not stop the hunger strike, her mother said. She said it was her daughter’s third hunger strike since she was sent to the prison in the southern Russian city of Novorossiysk. Tatyana Polyudova said her daughter has been subjected to physical attacks and other abuse by fellow inmates and suspects that the prison authorities are behind the mistreatment. There was no immediate comment from prison officials. Ms. Polyudova was sentenced to two years in prison in 2015 after being convicted of propagating extremism and separatism online. She had been charged in 2014 over Internet posts in which she criticized the Russian government for its support of separatists in eastern Ukraine, where fighting that erupted in April of that year has killed more than 10,000 people. The Moscow-based Memorial human rights center has designated Ms. Polyudova a political prisoner. (RFE/RL’s Russian Service)

Russian envoy ready to improve relations

WASHINGTON – Russia’s new ambassador to the United States, arriving at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries, says Moscow is ready to take “concrete” steps to improve ties with the United States. Russian state-run news agencies reported that Ambassador Anatoly Antonov presented his credentials to U.S. President Donald Trump on September 8, just days after the latest chapter in a raging tit-for-tat diplomatic dispute between Moscow and Washington. “I have just been received by President Trump to hand over my credentials. On my part, I told him that we hope for improvement in relations between our countries,” Mr. Antonov said, according to Russian media. “The atmosphere was good, constructive, and friendly.” U.S. officials have not yet commented on the ambassador’s meeting with Trump. The United States on August 31 ordered the closure of Russia’s Consulate in San Francisco and trade annexes in Washington and New York. The U.S. action came after Moscow ordered the United States to reduce its personnel at diplomatic facilities in Russia to 455, which represented a cut of about 755 staff members. Ambassador Antonov, a veteran diplomat who is under sanctions by the European Union for his role in Russia’s interference in Ukraine, did not speak directly to the diplomatic row, only saying that “we want our relations to be trusting, mutually respectful, equitable, and certainly mutually beneficial.” Before his meeting, the ambassador said that “it’s highly regrettable the Russian-U.S. relations are going through this upheaval now, right at the moment when international problems we could resolve together with the United States are piling up.” (RFE/RL, with reporting by Reuters, Interfax and TASS)

Car bomb in Kyiv kills man

KYIV – A bomb exploded on September 8 in a car in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, killing one man and injuring two other people in what police suspect is the fourth targeted car bombing in just over a year. Police and witnesses identified the man as Timur Makhauri, a Chechen with Georgian citizenship. Police and several people who knew Makhauri claimed he was a member of a Ukrainian volunteer battalion who fought against Russia-backed separatists in the country’s war-racked east. The claim could not be immediately verified. Artem Shevchenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry, told RFE/RL that Makhauri ran in “criminal circles” and was “not an example of a law-abiding citizen.” Mr. Shevchenko added that a criminal case had been opened into the incident, with charges likely to include “premeditated murder committed using a publicly dangerous method.” Makhauri was reportedly arrested in January near the spot where he died in connection with a spate of car robberies and for illegal possession of weapons. Timerhan Minayev, who said he served with Makhauri in a volunteer battalion, told reporters with Ukraine’s Channel 112 television that Makharui had survived several prior assassination attempts. Police said Makhauri died when his black Toyota Camry with Georgian plates exploded in rush-hour traffic near the posh Arena City entertainment complex at 6:10 p.m. The bomb was planted in his car, a police official said. A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries, while a child of 5 to 10 years of age was in satisfactory condition. Police said they were not related to Makhauri. An RFE/RL correspondent at the site reported that police, security officials and bomb experts had roped off the mangled vehicle at the intersection of Basseyna and Velyka Vasylkivska streets. Traffic was stopped for blocks as investigators combed through debris. There have been at least three targeted car bombings in Ukraine in the past 14 months that killed two Security Service officials and a prominent journalist, Pavel Sheremet. (Christopher Miller of RFE./RL)

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