putin
© Reuters / Alexei DruzhininRussian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Kiev to start substantial talks on deescalating the crisis in eastern Ukraine. He added that it's an illusion to expect that the rebels would calmly watch their homes being destroyed.


Comment: Exactly. Any hopes of a peaceful federalization of Ukraine were shattered the moment Kiev started murdering civilians and destroying their homes.


"We have agreed on a plan, so its realization must be pursued," Putin told Channel 1 TV, adding that the Ukrainian government "must immediately start substantial talks - not a technical discussion - on the political organization of society and the state in southeast Ukraine so that the interests of people who live there are protected."

The plan, according to Russia's leader, puts negotiations at the center of the peace process. In a clear reference to the toppling of Viktor Yanukovich by the Maidan movement in February, Putin said that mistakes such as a power takeover should be avoided and called it the main cause of today's crisis.


Comment: Notice how Russia is the only one calling for real negotiations in the interests of peace (just as they are the only ones actively supporting a fully impartial investigation of MH17). The West merely accuses Putin of escalating and supporting the conflict, while they do nothing to stop it, and actively encourage it with their support of Poroshenko's regime.


The Russian president called on Kiev to consider the upcoming autumn and winter period and think about the heating season. The devastated infrastructure of the southeast requires full repair otherwise people might just freeze to death, he said.

"It looks as if only Russia cares about that. The first most essential condition is to stop combat operations and begin reconstruction of the infrastructure, replenish inventories, do the necessary repairs and scheduled maintenance to be ready for the cold season."


Comment: In politics as in life, it is best to judge a politician by his or her deeds, not words. The West talks a lot about their 'humanitarian missions' in places like Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, etc., but we all know where that leads. On the other hand, Putin speaks of the same things, but his words are not hollow. Russia actually gets things done.


Putin said that, while the resolution of the crisis now mostly depends on Kiev, it is impossible to say when it may end. He said it could be explained by the upcoming Ukrainian parliamentary elections.

"All the participants in the electoral race will want to show how cool they are," Putin said. "Everyone will want to show they are strongmen or strongwomen, and as the political struggle sharpens it is hard to expect anyone to seek a peaceful resolution and not a military one."

At the same time, it is an illusion that the rebels would sit and patiently wait for the promised talks to start, Putin said, especially when they see "cities and towns in southeast Ukraine shelled to the ground with direct fire."

The Russian leader accused the Ukrainian military of force readjustment during the ceasefire in humanitarian corridors granted by eastern self-defense militia to entrapped Ukrainian troops.

"They [Kiev] used this pause to bring more troops and attempt to break the entrapments by force and lead their troops out," said president, pointing out that such actions begot distrust and led to extensive fatalities.


Comment: As the Saker recently pointed out:
It all began with Ukrainian women demanding that their men be saved from the cauldrons in which 7,000+ of them are surrounded. These woman have organized protests in front of the Ukie Presidency and General Staff and, of course, they were ignored. Except for Putin, who apparently heard them and who officially requested that the Novorussians provide the Ukies with humanitarian corridors to leave. The only Novorussian demand was that they leave behind their heavy weapons and ammo, but they were allowed to keep their unit banners (to avoid humiliating them). The junta first disagreed, but some local Ukie commanders took up the offer and apparently certain units have already left this way. Now think of the irony: the Ukrainian women protest and demand that their men be spared and it's the Russian President to hears their plea and makes it happen!

This way to combine the morally right and tactically ingenious is one of the key characteristics of Putin's method: he wins, but never by doing the ugly thing, instead he wins by doing the right thing. Brilliant!

Commenting on the new batch of sanctions against Russia threatened by western countries, Putin advised his counterparts to think again about what they are advocating.

"What are the so-called European values then? Support for an armed coup, suppression of opponents with armed forces - so these are 'European values'? I believe our colleagues should be reminded of their own ideals," the president said.

As for the countermeasures Russia has taken, imposing a ban on certain food imports from the US, EU and several other countries, Putin believes the sanctioned European countries might find it hard to return to the Russian market. He expects new importers from Latin America, China and Russia's eastern neighbors to secure the market during the year, and then it would "very difficult, almost impossible to budge them."