Friday, 9 May 2014

Russia’s Vladimir Putin dials back tensions in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference after a meeting with Swiss President and OSCE chairman Didier Burkhalter (not pictured) at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 07 May 2014. Putin called on separatists in east Ukraine on to postpone a referendum on independence for the mostly Russian-speaking region and said Moscow had withdrawn troops from the border with Ukraine.
It is hard to say yet. But the Russian president appeared to do an uncharacteristic volte-face Wednesday, calling for an end to political violence in eastern Ukraine that western governments believe the Kremlin has been orchestrating, and saying he had ordered tens of thousands of Russian troops camped near the Ukrainian border to return to their bases.

Putin further dialed back tensions in the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk by urging pro-Russia separatists here to call off a referendum on independence that they had intended to hold this Sunday.

Whether pro-Russian separatists, who often have demonstrated minds of their own, will heed Putin’s thunderbolts is one of many open questions. The immediate reaction of their leadership was to say they would gather Thursday to discuss the question...


From nationalpost News

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