Time not on side of Russia-Ukraine detente deal
WASHINGTON — Not until the final minutes of more than seven hours of negotiating was an agreement struck in Geneva this week to calm boiling tensions along the shared border between Russia and Ukraine. But the deal won’t be sealed until its terms are met, and patience is wearing thin as time runs out.
Skepticism that it might work deepened Friday as pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine continued to occupy government buildings in defiance of the accord and showed no inclination to abide by its call to surrender their weapons.
The U.S. and European Union say they will slap Moscow with a new round of sanctions against oligarchs and advisers to President Vladimir Putin by the middle of next week if the separatists do not disarm and give up control of buildings they seized in recent riots against local authorities.
In return, Moscow is demanding guarantees that Ukraine’s promised constitutional reforms will give pro-Russian separatists a say in the distribution of government power.
Few believe that either side will get what they want before the clock runs out.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/time-not-on-side-of-russia-ukraine-detente-deal/2014/04/19/80b2ffe6-c798-11e3-b708-471bae3cb10c_story.html