UN, 28 July 2014 – The shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines plane over
eastern Ukraine may amount to a war crime, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights today said today, releasing a new report
that details a total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and
terror inflicted by armed groups in the area.
“I would like to stress to all those involved in the conflict, including
foreign fighters, that every effort will be made to ensure that anyone
committing serious violations of international law, including war
crimes, will be brought to justice, no matter who they are,” Navi Pillay
said. “I urge all sides to bring to an end the rule of the gun and
restore respect for the rule of law and human rights.”
EU sanctions against Russia must be stepped up, the
Ukrainian border closed to halt arms flows from Russia, and the bodies
of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash victims returned, MEPs insisted
in today’s debate with Ukraine’s foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin. Mr
Klimkin called on the EU to show its solidarity now, as Ukraine is
“being punished for its EU aspirations”. The debate opened with a
minute’s silence for victims of the 17 July crash.
The Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed within the operating zone
of the Ukrainian army’s self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air Buk
missile systems, the Russian military said Monday.
"The flight scheme indicates that the plane’s route and possible
point of destruction fall into the operational range of Buk air defense
systems deployed by the Ukrainian armed forces,” Lt. Gen. Andrei
Kartapolov, the head of the Main Operations Directorate of the HQ of
Russia’s military forces, said during a media conference in Moscow.
Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday it was baffled by several countries imposing pressure on investigators by voicing their theories about the causes of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 crash in eastern Ukraine.
"It is baffling that even before the start of the investigation, official representatives of a range of countries rushed to groundlessly announce their theories on the causes of the accident, thus putting pressure on the investigation process. The Russian side addresses both sides of the Ukrainian conflict with an urgent call to do everything possible for the access of international experts to the area of the plane crash to carry out all the actions necessary to investigate the mentioned air crash," the ministry said in a statement.
A Malaysian airliner was brought down over eastern Ukraine, killing
all 295 people aboard and sharply raising the stakes in a conflict
between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in which Russia and the West back
opposing sides.
Ukraine accused "terrorists" - fighters aiming to unite eastern
Ukraine with Russia - of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777
with a heavy, Soviet-era SA-11 ground-to-air missile as it flew from
Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
Leaders of the rebel Donetsk People's Republic denied any
involvement, although around the same time their military commander said
his forces had downed a much smaller Ukrainian transport plane. It
would be their third such kill this week.
La recommandation faite à Kiev de mener l'opération militaire dans l'est de l'Ukraine selon les "normes internationales" peut être considérée comme un feu vert à poursuivre l'escalade du conflit, a déclaré mercredi le porte-parole de la diplomatie russe Alexandre Loukachevitch en commentant un nouveau rapport du Haut-Commissariat de l'Onu aux droits de l'homme (HCDH).
"Ce qui indigne le plus, c'est la recommandation hypocrite donnée aux autorités ukrainiennes d'effectuer leur opération antiterroriste «conformément aux normes internationales». Il s'agit de facto d'une autorisation à poursuivre le massacre de civils et l'escalade du conflit", lit-on dans le communiqué de M. Loukachevitch mis en ligne sur le site du ministère russe des Affaires étrangères.
BRUSSELS - President Barack Obama said on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin must recognize and work with Ukraine's new government and stop "provocations" along its border, or face tougher sanctions from members of the G7 group of nations.
Electoral commission calls for more security, saying 2 million people in east may be unable to vote because of violence....
Ukraine's electoral body has voiced fears that it may be impossible
to hold next weekend's presidential poll in the east, where a pro-Moscow
insurgency is threatening to plunge the country into a civil war.
The Central Election Commission said on Saturday it could not prepare
for the vote in the region because of threats and "illegal actions" by
separatists who have overrun more than a dozen towns and cities since
early April, the news agency, AFP, reported.
It called for the authorities in Kiev to take urgent action to ensure
security, saying that violence could prevent almost two million people
from voting on May 25, when some 36 million overall will be called to
the polls.
The warning came as Ukraine's embattled government held a second
round of "national unity" dialogue under a Western-backed plan to try to
defuse the crisis, but failed to report any progress.
Russia said Kiev must first halt its month-long offensive against the
rebels, questioning the legitimacy of an election held under "the
thunder of guns".
As two of the most tense regions in eastern Ukraine prepare to vote
on declaring sovereignty, the country's acting president has warned them
against self-destruction.
Ukrainian acting president Oleksandr Turchynov, in comments posted on
the presidential website on Saturday, said the pro-Russian supporters
of independence for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions "don't understand
that this would be a complete destruction of the economy, social
programs and general life for the majority of the population".
"This is a step into the abyss for the regions," Turchynov said.
The European Union called on Saturday for an independent investigation
into the deaths of at least 42 people in southern Ukraine after a riot
ended with dozens of pro-Russian protesters killed in a burning
building.
The street battle between supporters and opponents of Russia in the
Black Sea port of Odessa that ended in the deadly blaze in a besieged
trade union building was by far the worst incident in Ukraine since a
February uprising that ended with a pro-Russian president fleeing the
country.
Former Prime Minister and Batkivshchina (Fatherland) party leader Yulia Timoshenko said Ukraine “must be a member of NATO” even though a large part of people has many times spoken against this.
In an interview with The Associated Press, excerpts from which were published on Saturday, April 26, Timoshenko, who is running for presidency in Ukraine, spoke of a “fundamental change” in public thinking following the latest events in the east of the country and Russia’s actions.
She believes that the mentality of Ukrainians has changed as has the strategic course of the country. “NATO is the best choice for Ukraine,” she said.
ONU, 24 avril 2014 – Le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, Ban
Ki-moon, a exprimé jeudi sa profonde inquiétude concernant la situation
dans l'est de l'Ukraine, estimant qu'elle pourrait rapidement devenir
incontrôlable.
« Le Secrétaire général est profondément préoccupé par la poursuite de
la violence dans l'est de l'Ukraine, qui a entraîné des pertes en vies
humaines, une instabilité accrue et qui contribue à un climat de peur et
d'angoisse », a dit son porte-parole dans une déclaration à la presse.
One century ago Europe was on the brink of one
of history's deadliest conflicts that would change our world forever.
MEPs commemorated the centenary of the Great War during a debate on 16
April, warning that peace and stability should never be taken for
granted. They also called for more integration and stressed the
importance of fighting nationalism to ensure peace, stability and
security in Europe.
WW I was the first great catastrophe of the 20th century, said EP President Martin Schulz, pointing out the importance of international cooperation.
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday sent a letter to EU leaders, expressing his "extreme concern" over Ukraine's debt for Russian gas and warning them that supplies to Europe may be affected, his spokesman said.
"Indeed, such a letter signed by Putin was today delivered to heads of state of Eastern and Western Europe through diplomatic channels," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state RIA Novosti news agency.
"Putin expresses extreme concern over the critical situation around Ukraine's debt and supplies of Russian gas related to it," Peskov said.
Pro-Russian separatists reinforced barricades around the state security
building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on Wednesday and
called on Russian President Vladimir Putin for help after the government
warned it could use force to restore order.
"Of course we must
ask Russia to take us in because I don't see an alternative," said a man
dressed in camouflage who gave his name as Vasiliy and said he was the
commandant of the building. "Putin help us!" he said.
BRUSSELS. -NATO has decided to limit access to its Brussels headquarters to Russian diplomats from Tuesday.
“The
formerly extensive access to NATO headquarters will be denied to all
representatives of the Russian Mission, except the Russian Ambassador,
his Deputy Head of Mission, and two support staff”, according to a NATO
official statement on Monday.
The Alliance said that other staff
from the Russian mission requiring access for official business would
have to be announced, registered and escorted during their visit.
E. VENIZELOS: Thank you. I am here just to welcome publicly Cathy Ashton
and my counterparts from the other European countries, hosting the
Gymnich Council, this Informal Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs.
It is a great pleasure and a great opportunity for every European
Presidency, because of the high level of debates, and I think that will
be quite clear from what Cathy Ashton has to say by way of introduction
and from our discussion with you.
C. ASHTON: Can I begin by
thanking you very much, Deputy Prime Minister and your team, for the
excellent organization of this Meeting and this wonderful venue.
BRUSSELS — A reinvigorated NATO flexed old Cold War muscles Tuesday as
the Atlantic alliance’s chief recommitted to defending Eastern European
and Baltic nations rattled by Russia’s military moves and its annexation
of Crimea.
At the opening of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign
ministers, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance has
not seen signs of Russian troop withdrawals along the Ukraine border,
as Moscow has claimed. A senior U.S. State Department official had
called Russia’s promised pullback a “gesture,” but a welcome one.
Der Westen hat sich jahrelang darum bemüht, die Ukraine von Russland
„loszureißen“, wie der russische Außenminister Sergej Lawrow am Sonntag
in einem Interview für den Ersten Fernsehkanal sagte.
„Es
entsteht ein Gefühl, dass unsere Kollegen im Westen (…) jahrelang
Bedingungen für eine Abkehr der Ukraine von Russland geschaffen haben.
The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, March 28, 2014:
"We welcome the selection of former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens
Stoltenberg as NATO’s next Secretary General, beginning October 1,
2014. Mr. Stoltenberg is a proven leader with a demonstrated commitment
to the transatlantic Alliance. As Prime Minister, he built Norway’s
military capabilities and actively contributed to NATO operations and
political dialogue. We are confident he is the best person to ensure
the continued strength and unity of the NATO Alliance.
