|
 Russian President Vladimir Putin shook hands with his Ukrainian
counterpart Petro Poroshenko at the start of a meeting with European
leaders aimed at patching up a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and
resolving a dispute over gas supplies.
The various leaders emerged an hour later telling reporters some
progress had been made and promising further talks.
"It was good, it was positive," a smiling Putin told reporters after
the meeting, held on the margins of a summit of Asian and European
leaders in Milan.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later poured cold water on
hopes of any breakthrough, saying "certain participants" had taken
an "absolutely biased, non-flexible, non-diplomatic" approach to
Ukraine.
"The talks are indeed difficult, full of misunderstandings,
disagreements, but they are nevertheless ongoing, the exchange of
opinion is in progress," he said.
A similar message emerged overnight after Putin met German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, a formerly cordial relationship that has
come under heavy strain from Moscow's support for pro-Russian rebels
in eastern Ukraine.
The meeting was reported by both sides to have made little progress,
with the Kremlin saying "serious differences" remained in their
analysis of a crisis.
Putin, Poroshenko, Merkel and French President Francois Hollande
were due meet later in the day, their aides said.
The West has imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its
annexation of Crimea and its support for east Ukraine's separatists.
The European leaders urged Russia to do more to end constant, deadly
violations of a ceasefire that was agreed by Putin and Poroshenko
last month in Minsk, saying Russia needed to fulfill its
commitments.
Officials said local elections and the issue of using unmanned drone
aircraft for surveillance of the borders between Russia and Ukraine
were particular sticking points in the discussions, with Russia
pushing to have its drones taking part alongside those offered by
France and Germany.
FROZEN CONFLICT
The crisis in relations with Kiev has led Russia to cut gas supplies
to Ukraine because of unpaid bills. The European Union fears this
could threaten disruptions in the gas flow to the rest of the
continent this winter, and is working hard to broker a deal.
Russia is Europe's biggest gas supplier, accounting for around a
third of demand, and the European Union gets about half of the
Russian gas it uses via Ukraine.
The stand-off over pricing is the third in a decade between Moscow
and Kiev, though this time tensions are higher because of the
fighting in eastern Ukraine.
[to top of second column] |
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters
that Russia, Ukraine and EU officials would meet in Brussels to try
to resolve the gas row. Kiev and its Western backers accuse Moscow
of aiding a pro-Russian separatist revolt in eastern Ukraine by
providing troops and arms. Russia denies the charges but says it has
a right to defend the interests of the region's Russian-speaking
majority.
Taking the lead in the diplomacy, Merkel saw Poroshenko on Thursday
evening and then met Putin until well after midnight -- an encounter
that was significantly delayed because the Russian president arrived
in Milan much later than expected.
Speaking off the record, a German source said Putin had not been in
a "too constructive mood".
Putin had warned on Thursday that Russia would reduce gas supplies
to Europe if Ukraine took gas from the transit pipeline to cover its
own needs, although he added that he was "hopeful" it would not come
to that.
More than 3,600 people have died in eastern Ukraine since fighting
broke out in mid-April when armed separatists declared they were
setting up their own state.
Although Putin announced this week that Russian troops near the
border with Ukraine would be pulled back, Western officials want to
see clear evidence that Moscow is acting on this.
"Vladimir Putin said very clearly he doesn't want a frozen conflict
and doesn't want a divided Ukraine. But if that's the case, then
Russia now needs to take the actions to put in place all that has
been agreed," said British Prime Minister David Cameron.
 "If those things don't happen, then clearly the European Union,
Britain included, must keep in place the sanctions and the pressure
so we don't have this sort of conflict in our continent."
(Writing by Crispian Balmer; Additional reporting by Elizabeth
Pineau, Steve Scherer, Elvira Pollina, Francesca Landini, Giulio
Piovaccari and James Mackenzie in Milan; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
