Updated: Land for gas: secret German deal could end Ukraine crisis

[reorg]

46. It was reported elsewhere before

Merkel called for peace talks with participation of Ukraine, Russia, EU, "rebels" and OSCE representatives, said Tagesspiegel on July 16. Merkel had talked to Putin during the FIFA world cup in Rio. According to more recent reports by Tagesspiegel, Merkel was constantly on the phone with Putin, every day, until very recently.



Putin has always proposed an immediate ceasefire and peace talks between Ukrainian government and the resistance in the east. Here his latest statement:

"... in general, I would like to says that unfortunately, those who plan foreign policy actions in the United States - this is not a recent observation but one pertaining to the last 10-15 years - are conducting an aggressive foreign policy and, in my view, a rather unprofessional one, because whatever they do, there are problems everywhere. Just look: there are problems in Afghanistan; Iraq is falling apart; Libya is falling apart. ... They touched Ukraine, and there are problems there as well. It would be good if everyone understood that we must rely on the fundamental principles of international law and domestic law, and treat statehood and constitutionality with great care, particularly in nations that are just getting on their feet, where the politicial system is still fairly young and immature, and where the economy is still developing.

We need to treat state institutions with great care. There are grave consequences when they are regarded with disdain: disintegration and internal conflicts, as we are currently observing in Ukraine. The people who are pusing other countries toward such developments should never forget that the blood ofo the soldiers in the regular army, the blood ofo the fighters in the resistance, and the civilians, first and foremost, is on their hands, as are the tears of the mothers, widows and orphans - they are on their conscience, and they do not have any moral right to shrug off this responsibility onto anyone else's shoulders.

Here is what should be done jointly: calling on all sides in the conflict in Ukraine to immediately cease hostilities and start talks.

But unfortunately, we are not seeing this on the part of our partners, first and foremost our American partners who, on the contrary, it seems to me, are pushing Ukraine's current authorities toward continuing a fratricidal war and continuing retributive operations. ...