Deal reached on calming Ukraine tensions

[Bosonic]

Source: AP

GENEVA (AP) — Top diplomats from the United States, European Union, Russia and Ukraine reached agreement Thursday on immediate steps to ease the crisis in Ukraine.

The agreement, reached after seven hours of negotiation in Geneva, requires all sides to refrain from violence, intimidation or provocative actions. It calls for the disarming of all illegally armed groups and for control of buildings seized by pro-Russian separatists during the protests to be turned back over to authorities.

It also gives amnesty to protesters who comply with the demands, except those found guilty of committing capital crimes.

Monitors with the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe will be tasked with helping Ukraine authorities and local communities comply with the requirements outlined in the agreement. And Kiev's plans to reform its constitution and transfer more power from the central government to regional authorities must be inclusive, transparent and accountable — including through the creation of a broad national dialogue.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ukraine-us-alternately-cajole-threaten-russia

---

[bunnies]

1. Sounds great in theory...

but I cant imagine illegally armed militants are just going to give up their weapons or strongholds because some diplomats want them too. To expect otherwise seems a bit naïve.

[snooper2]

9. Some of it is going to have to be through force

pro russian assholes aren't going to listen

[bunnies]

13. heh. Whatever do you mean?

They seem like totally reasonable people to me. It'll all be fine once they get the memo.

[seabeckind]

2. I'm suddenly feeling a tug on my wallet... n/t

[seabeckind]

3. Thinking about it...

This wouldn't have anything to do with our bankers worried about the money they loaned out, would it? Be a real shame if they got left holding some markers before the USA (that would be us) co-signed the notes.

Just read the last paragraph....

[blm]

18. You think a military confrontation would NOT tug on wallets?

Your reaction is a wee bit odd.

[The Magistrate]

4. Seems God Enough In Outline, Sir

Of course, the Devil is not only in the details, but in the execution....

[msongs]

5. putin will have plenty of execution(s) done to get his land back nt

[Benton D Struckcheon]

6. I'm just gonna go Whew! for now.

Weekends are when Putin has acted so far. My theory as to the reason is so that he has maximum negative effect on Western markets; gets to see a nice drop on the open on a Monday morning. We already know the head of Gazprom sold all his shares, so it's not like any of his friends would be directly affected. Figured it was his own utterly amateurish and clumsy way of trying to stick it financially to the West.
What's funny was seeing some posters saying it was pensioners staging the pro-Russian protests and storming those buildings. The obvious question of course is - why would they wait for the weekend then? It's not like they don't have all week, eh?
Anyway, this weekend is Easter, so it's possible this is just a way for him to back off and wait until next weekend to do something. Still cynical, we'll see.

[The Magistrate]

7. One Suspects, Sir, That Kiev Finally Shooting Back Has Something To Do With The Speed Of This

It is a lot less fun when there actually are corpses on the ground, and the enthusiasm of the irregulars may have dimmed considerably, while there looms the possibility, if things continue on early course, of a Russian commando with a bullet through him being produced to make evident the degree of meddling Russia is engaged in in the Donets.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

14. Heh. That would be ... inconvenient. n/t

[cabrona]

8. A weekend is a weekend.

That's all.

[CFLDem]

10. Yeah... No

Not really holding much hope out for this one.

[JackRiddler]

11. Sure hope this works...

On the ground it seems to be getting out of control with ethno-nationalist extremists on all sides engaging in red-flag provocations, violence, and black propaganda. And the powers of EU, NATO and Russia have been stoking the conflict until now.

And when was the next Ukrainian election scheduled, before the regime change?

[jakeXT]

23. Dec 2014

[Tommy_Carcetti]

12. I just have to wonder about the plausible deniability factor for Russia.

I.e. Russia claiming it has no control over the militants in Eastern Ukraine. Just like it claimed it had no control over the militants in Crimea.....until it did.

I'll hope for the best, but after hearing Putin's "Novorussiya" remarks today, I have trouble thinking Russia will back off just like that.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

15. Guardian's continuous coverage reports ....

1. Some people took over a TV station so it could broadcast the Dear Leader's press conference, and ...
2. In Donetsk, they said they'd leave when the Maidan folks leave. Looks like some intra-Ukraine negotiations are going to need to be done.

Link here (via dipsydoodle earlier): http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/17/ukraine-diplomats-meet-in-geneva-in-bid-to-ease-crisis-live-coverage

[jakeXT]

20. I think you should read threads more carefully

It was a poster complaining about a 200.000 bounty which was left out by the Guardian

The Guardian left out the biggest reward

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014782940#post11

Reuters included the $200.000 in this case Guardian was even better than Reuters.

Ukraine local boss puts price on head of Russian 'saboteurs'

(Reuters) - A billionaire regional governor in eastern Ukraine put a $10,000 bounty on the head of any Russian "saboteur" on Thursday and pledged a reward for the Ukrainian troops who shot protesters at their base overnight.

Aides to banking and energy tycoon Igor Kolomoisky, who was appointed last month by the new government in Kiev to run the industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk, also offered payments for weapons handed in to the local authorities and a reward of $200,000 for anyone who "liberated" an occupied public building.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/17/us-ukraine-crisis-bounty-idUSBREA3G1LX20140417

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. How has the Guardian story been 'debunked'?

There appears to be a sub-thread about an apparently faked photo of a huge poster - but the Guardian didn't mention that poster.

[Sunlei]

16. progress in the right direction. move out the illegally armed groups while they're still small.

I read they got them out of their airport.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

17. I was expecting the Blue Helmets.

[jakeXT]

22. Good luck with their demands

DONETSK, April 18 (RIA Novosti) – Anti-government protesters in Ukraine's Donetsk region will vacate government buildings and surrender their arms only when Kiev frees all hostages and moves to hold a referendum on the country's political system, a senior commander of Donetsk’s self-defense forces said Friday.

“If they release all political prisoners, stop persecutions, and Right Sector lays down their arms and a referendum on Ukraine’s political system is in the pipeline, then of course administrative buildings will be freed and the struggle will come to an end,” Sergei Tsyplakov told RIA Novosti.

On Thursday, Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union agreed at a meeting in Geneva on steps to deescalate the crisis in Ukraine’s southeastern regions.

They called on the warring parties to disband illegally armed groups, empty all occupied government buildings and remove protesters from streets and squares. They also urged the Kiev regime to pardon demonstrators who had not committed felonies.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140418/189254445/Federalists-Name-Conditions-for-Vacating-Government-Buildings-in.html