April 28, 2017

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EU envoys OK visa liberalization

BRUSSELS – European Union ambassadors have approved visa liberalization for Ukraine, a key step toward closer ties and visa-free travel to the EU for Ukrainians. EU ministers are now set to rubber-stamp the decision on May 11, and the signing ceremony for the deal is expected to take place in Strasbourg on May 17. EU diplomats have told RFE/RL they hope the visa-free regime will enter into force in mid-June. Analysts say Russia’s seizure of Crimea and involvement in a war against government forces in eastern Ukraine have only increased many Ukrainians’ desire for closer ties with the EU. Many in the country of 44 million have closely followed the process since December 2015, when the European Commission recommended to EU member states and the European Parliament that Ukraine be granted visa liberalization. The decision will apply to all Ukrainian citizens who have biometric passports. They will be able to enter all EU member states apart from Ireland and the United Kingdom for up to 90 days during any 180-day period. Visa-free EU travel began on March 28 for citizens of Georgia, another former Soviet republic that is under pressure from Russia. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Rikard Jozwiak)

Tillerson briefs Poroshenko, vows support 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that Russia’s actions in eastern Ukraine remain an obstacle to improved U.S.-Russian relations and he reiterated his “firm” support for Kyiv. Spokesman Mark Toner on April 23 said the call was meant to brief the Ukrainian leader on Tillerson’s April 11-12 trip to Moscow, where he met with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov. He said Mr. Tillerson relayed his “message to the Russian leadership that, although the United States is interested in improving relations with Russia, Russia’s actions in eastern Ukraine remain an obstacle.” Mr. Toner said Mr. Poroshenko passed on his condolences on the death earlier in the day of a U.S. member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission in eastern Ukraine. Messrs. Tillerson and Poroshenko agreed that “this tragic incident makes clear the need for all sides – and particularly the Russian-led separatist forces – to implement their commitments under the Minsk agreements immediately,” Mr. Toner said. The spokesman said the secretary of state reiterated the “firm” U.S. commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He confirmed that sanctions against Moscow will remain in place until Russia returns control of the Crimean Peninsula to Ukraine and fully implements its commitments in the Minsk agreements. The 2015 Minsk agreement and subsequent related agreements set out steps to end the war between Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Europe and restore Kyiv’s control over the border with Russia. Mr. Tillerson also “emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s continued progress on reform and combating corruption,” according to the State Department’s spokesperson. (RFE/RL)

OSCE probes Donbas car explosion 

MOSCOW – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has launched an internal investigation into a car explosion that killed an OSCE observer in separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine. The OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier said on April 25 after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that other investigations will also be launched to find out who is responsible for the April 23 explosion. American paramedic Joseph Stone was killed and two other OSCE monitors – a German woman and a Czech man – were wounded when the car they were traveling in drove over a landmine on April 23. “I’m now setting an internal investigation. There will be also a criminal investigation to understand who is responsible for this outcome,” Mr. Zannier told reporters. “A mine was left on a road which is also used by civilians, and there could have been other victims as well.” Mr. Lavrov said Moscow favors tightening the security measures for the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission in eastern Ukraine. The OSCE’s mission has been set up to monitor the conflict between Ukraine’s government forces and Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The conflict in Ukraine has killed more than 9,900 people since April 2014. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Interfax and TASS)

Rep. Levin on OSCE monitor’s death

WASHINGTON – Rep. Sander Levin (D- Mich.) on April 24 released a statement in response to the landmine explosion in eastern Ukraine Sunday that killed an American observer. “My thoughts are with the family of the American observer of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, who was killed by a landmine explosion in Pryshyb, an area controlled by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine on Sunday. This incident underscores the need to immediately implement the Minsk agreement, including ensuring the safety of international observers in areas controlled by Russia-backed separatists. I call on Russian authorities to fully cooperate with the OSCE in conducting a thorough investigation, and in holding the perpetrators accountable,” he said. “The people of Ukraine have shown time and again their will for a free and democratic nation. I urge the Trump Administration to express unequivocal support for the people of Ukraine, and stand shoulder to shoulder with them in countering Russian aggression in the region.” (Office of Rep. Sander Levin)

Trump endorses peace efforts 

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed U.S. support for efforts led by Germany and France to negotiate a resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the White House said on April 24. In a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr. Trump endorsed her efforts along with French President Francois Hollande to negotiate with their counterparts in Russia and Ukraine “a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Ukraine on the basis of the Minsk agreement.” The Minsk agreement established a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists in the east and outlined a process for attaining peace, but it has never fully been followed. Mr. Trump and Ms. Merkel also discussed the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and the “urgent security challenge posed by North Korea” during their phone conversation, the White House said. (RFE/RL)

NATO-Ukraine Commission on reform

OTTAWA – Ukraine’s vice prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, Ivanna Klympush-Tsinsadze, visited NATO Headquarters, where she met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. NATO’s press service reported: “In a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, Minister Klympush-Tsintsadze briefed Allies on Ukraine’s reform efforts and annual implementation plans. The secretary general reaffirmed NATO’s strong support for Ukraine and thanked Kyiv for pursuing an ambitious reform agenda in the defense and security sector. He also expressed his condolences to the loved ones of the OSCE paramedic killed and those wounded in the explosion in eastern Ukraine on Sunday (April 23). He said that the incident underscored the need for the Minsk agreements to be implemented in full. Allied ambassadors reiterated this message, stressing the importance of guaranteeing safety and freedom of movement for OSCE monitors. Allies also encouraged Ukraine to take reforms forward to strengthen its defense forces and democratic institutions, and tackle corruption.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)

Russian court sentences Crimean Tatar 

KYIV – A Russian court has sentenced a Crimean Tatar man to 12 years in prison, drawing swift condemnation from Ukraine for what Kyiv called a politically motivated ruling. Lawyers for Ruslan Zeytullayev said that, in an April 26 verdict, a military court in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don convicted their client of establishing a cell of the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir in Crimea. Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in Russia, which seized control of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has prosecuted many opponents of the takeover – including members of the Muslim Crimean Tatar community – on what rights groups say are false charges. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Maryana Betsa said the ruling was politically motivated and urged other countries to take Moscow to task over Mr. Zeytullayev’s trial. “The so-called ruling is based on fabricated accusations. We demand the release of Zeytullayev,” Ms. Betsa said on Twitter. “We will [call on] our partners to increase diplomatic pressure on the Russian Federation.” The 12-year sentence came in a retrial that was launched after Russian prosecutors contended that the initial sentence was too lenient. In September, the same court had convicted Mr. Zeytullayev and three other Crimean Tatars of being members of Hizb ut-Tahrir and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from five to seven years. Prosecutors said at the time that Mr. Zeytullayev deserved harsher punishment for being “a founder” of a Hizb ut-Tahrir cell. Russia has been heavily criticized by international rights groups and Western governments for its treatment of the members of the indigenous Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority since it took over the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014. Rights activists say Crimean Tatars have been arrested, abducted, and in some cases killed in a campaign to punish the group for largely opposing the takeover and neutralize it as a potential political and social force. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service)

Ukraine cuts electricity supply to LPR

KYIV – Ukraine’s state power company says it has cut electricity supplies to the parts of the Luhansk region that are controlled by Russia-backed separatists, the “Luhansk People’s Republic,” citing debts. Vsevolod Kovalchuk, head of the power distributor Ukrenergo, said on Facebook on April 25 that “the power supply to territory in the Luhansk region that is temporarily not controlled [by the government] was completely halted” overnight. Russia reacted angrily, claiming that the supply cuts were politically motivated and violated a peace deal for conflict-torn eastern Ukraine. Ukraine also cut gas supplies to separatist-held parts of the Luhansk region in 2015, also citing unpaid debts. Kyiv has accused the area of accumulating 2.6 billion hrv ($97.67 million) in unpaid electricity charges. Ukraine imposed a trade blockade on the separatist-held areas in March. (RFE/RL with reporting by Reuters and Interfax)

Prominent politician released on bail 

KYIV – A Kyiv court has released on bail an influential former lawmaker suspected of embezzlement. The April 22 ruling follows the detention two days earlier of Mykola Martynenko, an ally of former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced it was preparing to file charges against him. Investigators had sought a court order to place Mr. Martynenko, a former chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Fuel and Energy Committee, in pretrial custody. But the district court judge hearing the matter ruled in favor of Mr. Martynenko’s release on bail. The court said senior officials and several members of the Verkhovna Rada had pledged to ensure that Mr. Martynenko would comply with his obligations as a suspect in the case. The court also ordered Mr. Martynenko to remain in Kyiv. Mr. Martynenko is the second prominent political figure to have been detained in less than three months in Ukraine, whose government has faced pressure from its own citizens, Western governments, and the International Monetary Fund to crack down on corruption. (RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, with reporting by AP)

Central Europe raises military spending

STOCKHOLM – Countries in Central Europe showed the largest relative increases in military spending in 2016, at least partially as a result of the perceived increased threat from Russia, a new study says. “The growth in spending by many countries in Central Europe can be partly attributed to the perception of Russia posing a greater threat,” the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report released on April 23. The study said spending in Central Europe increased 2.6 percent, the largest amount relative to population. Russia increased military expenditures by 5.9 percent last year to $69.2 billion, making it the third-largest spender after the United States and China. Russia’s military spending in 2016 was 27 percent of the combined total of European NATO members, SIPRI said. The United States increased military spending by 1.7 percent to $611 billion, while China hiked outlays 5.4 percent to $215 billion. Saudi Arabia’s military spending declined sharply. In 2015, it was the third-largest spender, but it fell to fourth for 2016 after expenditures declined 30 percent to $63.7 billion as oil prices declined and the country underwent an austerity program. (RFE/RL)

Linkevicius: NATO shows commitment 

PRAGUE – Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Linas Linkevicius says the recent NATO deployments to the Baltic region and elsewhere in Eastern Europe are a sign that the Western alliance “will do anything” to defend the security of member nations. In an interview on April 20 with Current Time TV, Mr. Linkevicius also said Vilnius desires “normal” relations with Russia but that they should be based on “principles and values.” Mr. Linkevicius spoke to the Russian-language network, run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, as the 28-member alliance is bolstering its presence in the region to reassure member nations in the face of a renewed aggressive foreign policy by neighboring Russia. Particularly worrisome is Moscow’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its continued support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Russia has also been accused of interfering in the affairs of countries looking to move closer to the NATO alliance. NATO has deployed four battalions to Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, led by U.S., German, Canadian and British troops and each with about 800 troops. Mr. Linkevicius told Current Time TV that the level of threat from Russia against the Baltic states – all NATO members and all former Soviet republics – remains high. “The situation has not really improved since [last year],” he said. Mr. Linkevicius denied the NATO deployments should be seen by Moscow as a threat, given their small size compared with the level of Russia’s forces in the region. “If we compare figures, there are 300,000 servicemen in the Western Military District of the Russian Federation, plus the three more divisions whose deployment has been announced just recently,” he said. But Mr. Linkevicius said the NATO presence should be seen as a sign of its commitment to the region’s security. “The main thing is that we are not talking here about competition or escalation,” he said. “What we are doing is meant to leave no doubts for anyone that the NATO alliance will do everything necessary to guarantee the security of its territories and population.” Speaking of the hybrid war of unconventional methods, including disinformation and fake news, he said, “This war already is taking place – a cyberwar, an information war. In general, the understanding of security has been expanded.” He added, “Once, there were times when before a real fight, an artillery barrage took place… This is no longer needed. It may be sufficient to use brainwashing to create the staging ground for [military] action. I am deeply convinced that this is what happened in Crimea,” Mr. Linkevicius said. (RFE/RL, with reporting by AP and AFP)

Ukrainian airborne unit begins training

OTTAWA – U.S. Army Europe reported on April 25 that this week, Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine welcomed the 1st Airborne Battalion, 79th Air Assault Brigade to the Combat Training Center near Yavoriv, Ukraine. The story noted: “The airborne battalion earned the moniker ‘cyborgs’ for their relentless defense of the Donetsk Airport in 2014.” It went on to report that, “Over the next 55 days, the cyborgs will test their mettle completing a training program led by Ukrainian CTC trainers and U.S. mentors from the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The 45th IBCT is also working alongside partners from Canada, the U.K., Poland, Lithuania and Denmark whose missions complement that of JMTG-U.” U.S. Army Europe quoted Col. David Jordan, commander of the JMTG-U and the 45th IBCT, as saying: “Our exchange of experiences and techniques will ultimately make all of our armies stronger. That will ultimately make our nations stronger, and our world safer and more peaceful.” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress Daily Briefing)

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