Ukraine Urges No Russia Sanctions End Until Land Regained

By Daryna Krasnolutska and Roger Runningen  

Photographer: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in a speech at the United Nations... Read More

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk urged Europe and the U.S. not to lift sanctions on Russia until his country regains control of all its territory as rebels attacked government forces at Donetsk Airport.
“We do understand that sanctions are the way to start real talks and how to hammer out a peace deal,” Yatsenyuk said in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday. “No trust in words. We trust only in deeds and actions.”
The European Union and the U.S. have imposed sanctions targeting Russian individuals, companies and the nation’s finance, energy and defense industries. Russia denies U.S. and EU allegations that it’s stoking unrest in eastern Ukraine. The conflict, which erupted after Russia annexed Crimea in March, has killed more than 3,200 people, the UN estimates.
Ukrainian troops were
attacked starting at 9 a.m. today in several towns near the airport and also at a checkpoint, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters in Kiev.
President Barack Obama, in a speech yesterday to the UN’s General Assembly, said the U.S. and its allies will continue supporting Ukraine while offering Russian President Vladimir Putin a way out of the conflict, that’s been opened by a shaky cease-fire, if the Kremlin choses diplomacy and peace.

Russia’s Path

“If Russia takes that path -- a path that for stretches of the post-Cold War period resulted in prosperity for the Russian people -- then we will lift our sanctions and welcome Russia’s role in addressing common challenges,” Obama said. He urged Russia to adhere to diplomacy and peace.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in New York that the U.S. can’t dictate terms for a Ukraine peace. He said Russia is ready for equal dialogue with the U.S. and rejected accusations of aggression in Ukraine.
Joerg Forbrig, senior program officer for central and eastern Europe at the Berlin bureau of the German Marshall Fund of the U.S., said he doesn’t think the current lull in eastern Ukraine’s conflict will last.
“Russia will certainly try to mess with Ukraine’s Oct. 26 parliamentary elections,” Forbrig said in a phone interview. “There’s a political dynamic in Ukraine that the Russians constantly need to irritate -- so there’s no time for Putin to wait out the winter.”
Russia’s Micex Index (VTBMICX) rose 0.7 percent at 12:20 p.m. in Moscow, while the ruble declined 1 percent against the dollar.

Demilitarized Zone

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko agreed to the cease-fire with pro-Russian rebels on Sept. 5 and granted them powers to govern the areas they control. A final settlement to the crisis, which has stirred Cold War tensions, hasn’t yet been found. The deal to create a 30-kilometer (18 mile) demilitarized zone was struck Sept. 20 in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
“As soon as” the rebels “start to withdraw their heavy weapons, Ukrainian government troops will also start the weapons withdrawal,” Lysenko said. “We have already prepared an area for relocation” of equipment.