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Russia Urges West to Back 'Federal' Solution for Ukraine
[An Nahar] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday called on Western powers to back a proposal for Ukraine's Russian-speaking regions to have greater powers in a "federal" structure."If our Western partners are ready, then Russia, the United States and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... could form a support group on Ukraine and formulate shared appeals to those now in power in Kiev," Lavrov said in an interview with Russian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe? This would lead to talks between "all Ukrainian political forces without exception, naturally excluding armed radicals" and would end in a new constitution allowing for a "federal structure" with greater regional autonomy, he said. The interview was broadcast as Lavrov was due to meet U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... for hastily arranged talks in Gay Paree later Sunday. Russia backs the idea of greater regional autonomy because millions of Russian speakers are concentrated in Ukraine's eastern regions as well as in Crimea. This would "protect the rights of those who live in Ukraine, primarily of course the Russian population which is important to us," Lavrov said. Lavrov acknowledged that his first talks with Ukraine's interim foreign minister Andriy Deshchytsya last week ended without any agreement on Moscow's federalization plan. "Andriy Deshchytsya said our proposal was unacceptable because federalization contradicts the basic principles of Ukraine's state structure." "I don't understand why. I don't know any such principles," Lavrov said. He added that Deshchytsya also rejected a proposal to make Russian the second official language in Ukraine. Addressing fears of Russia's massing troops on Ukraine's borders, Lavrov said that "we do not pursue any evil designs and are open to honest talks as before." Posted by: Fred 2014-03-31 |
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