White House Urges ‘Outside Actors’ to Respect Ukraine's Sovereignty
The White House responded to a Russian troop alert near Ukraine on Wednesday by urging “outside actors” in the region to respect Ukrainian sovereignty.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest, briefing reporters as President Barack Obama flew from Washington to Minnesota, said the United States strongly supports Ukraine leaders' efforts to form an inclusive, multi-party government.
"We urge outside actors in the region to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, to end provocative rhetoric and actions, to support democratically established transitional governing structures and to use their influence in support of unity, peace and an inclusive path forward,” Earnest said.
Washington wants to “remind all governments of their political commitments to transparency about military activities” under international obligations designed to ensure peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic region, he said.
Tensions mount in Crimea
Meanwhile, pro-Russia demonstrators and those supporting Ukraine's new pro-Western interim leaders confronted each other in the southern city of Simferopol on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula on Wednesday.
Small-scale clashes broke out between the shouting protesters, some of whom were bloodied in the incident, which happened in the courtyard of the local parliament building in the Crimean capital.
The Crimean peninsula is mainly made up of Russian speakers who support Moscow, though it also includes a minority Tatar group that tends to take an anti-Russia stance and largely supports Ukraine's new interim leaders.
The tensions in Crimea and confrontations along ethinc lines in other parts of Ukraine have raised the specter of an East-West divide in the nation of 46 million following the ouster of Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych.
Kerry: 'No zero-sum game'
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday said the country should not be forced to choose between Moscow, its former Soviet master, and Washington.
"This is not a zero-sum game; it is not a West versus East, it should not be.... this is about the people of Ukraine and Ukrainians making their choice about their future," said Kerry.
Speaking on Wednesday, Kerry called on Russia to be 'very careful' in its judgments, and urged it to keep its commitment with respect to Ukraine's territorial integrity.
The White House has sent financial experts to Ukraine to help its new leaders deal with the economic crisis, Interfax news agency quoted U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns as saying on Wednesday.
Burns was also quoted as saying that the team of experts would remain in Ukraine following his departure later on Wednesday.
Ukraine's interim leaders have also asked the International Monetary Fund to prepare a new financial aid program for the country.
Russia flexes muscle
President Vladimir Putin ordered an urgent drill to test the combat readiness of the armed forces across western Russia on Wednesday, news agencies reported, flexing Moscow's military muscle amid tension with the West over Ukraine.
“In accordance with an order from the president of the Russian Federation, forces of the Western Military District were put on alert at 1400 (1000 GMT) today,” Interfax quoted Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying. The exercice reportedly involves 150,000 Russian combat troops
Putin has ordered several such surprise drills in various parts of Russia since he returned to the presidency in 2012, saying the military must be kept on its toes, but the geopolitical overtones could hardly have been clearer this time.
The western district borders Ukraine, which lies between NATO nations and Russia.
Putin has made no public comment on Ukraine since Yanukovych was driven from power over the weekend.
Shoigu was also quoted as saying that Russia is "carefully watching what is happening in Crimea, what is happening around the Black Sea Fleet."
Russia's Black Sea Naval Fleet is based on the Crimean coast on territory Moscow is leasing from Kyiv.
NATO chimes in
NATO defense ministers threw their support behind Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity on Wednesday as the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych has raised doubts about the country's future.
“A sovereign, independent and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security,” the ministers said in a statement issued during their meeting in Brussels.
“NATO allies will continue to support Ukrainian sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, democratic development, and the principle of inviolability of frontiers, as key factors of stability and security in central and eastern Europe and on the continent as a whole,” they said.
Interim cabinet named
Ukraine's protest leaders on Wednesday named former economy minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as their choice to head a new national unity government following the overthrow of president Viktor Yanukovych.
The "Euromaidan" council made its announcement of Yatsenyuk, plus candidates for several other key ministers, after its members addressed crowds on Kyiv's Independence Square.
Oleksandr Turchynov, acting president since Yanukovych was toppled on Saturday by parliament, said the new government would have to take unpopular decisions to head off default, establish the trust of creditors and investors and guarantee a normal life for Ukraine's people.
The Euromaidan's proposals have to be approved by parliament.
Yanukovych on 'Wanted' list
Meanwhile, Ukraine's ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, has been put on the international “Wanted” list, acting prosecutor-general Oleh Makhnytsky said on Wednesday.
Ukraine's new authorities say that Yanukovych, whose whereabouts are unknown, is wanted for 'mass murder' in connection with the shooting deaths of protesters during the crisis.
Yanukovych's offices and other buildings in Ukraine, including the national bank, were searched on Wednesday as part of an investigation against the ousted president for suspected premeditated murder, the prosecutor-general's office said.
In a statement on its website, the office said: “Within the framework of the criminal investigation ... searches have been carried out at the premises of the presidential administration, the national security and defense council, the national bank and the former residence of Yanukovych.”
Ukraine will also contact international organizations with an official request to help trace bank accounts and assets controlled by ousted president Yanukovych and his allies, the acting-prosecutor general said on Wednesday.
Accusing Yanukovych and his aides of stealing “not millions but billions” of dollars, Makhnytsky told Reuters in an interview that all major commercial deals concluded during his time in power would be reviewed.
“We will check everything: all the schemes of the ex-regime ... We are doing these checks because all the activity of the former regime was built on total corruption,” he said.
fuente. La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/content/us-britain-no-zero-sum-game-for-ukraine/1859367.html
White House spokesman Josh Earnest, briefing reporters as President Barack Obama flew from Washington to Minnesota, said the United States strongly supports Ukraine leaders' efforts to form an inclusive, multi-party government.
"We urge outside actors in the region to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, to end provocative rhetoric and actions, to support democratically established transitional governing structures and to use their influence in support of unity, peace and an inclusive path forward,” Earnest said.
Washington wants to “remind all governments of their political commitments to transparency about military activities” under international obligations designed to ensure peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic region, he said.
Tensions mount in Crimea
Meanwhile, pro-Russia demonstrators and those supporting Ukraine's new pro-Western interim leaders confronted each other in the southern city of Simferopol on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula on Wednesday.
Small-scale clashes broke out between the shouting protesters, some of whom were bloodied in the incident, which happened in the courtyard of the local parliament building in the Crimean capital.
The Crimean peninsula is mainly made up of Russian speakers who support Moscow, though it also includes a minority Tatar group that tends to take an anti-Russia stance and largely supports Ukraine's new interim leaders.
The tensions in Crimea and confrontations along ethinc lines in other parts of Ukraine have raised the specter of an East-West divide in the nation of 46 million following the ouster of Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych.
Kerry: 'No zero-sum game'
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday said the country should not be forced to choose between Moscow, its former Soviet master, and Washington.
"This is not a zero-sum game; it is not a West versus East, it should not be.... this is about the people of Ukraine and Ukrainians making their choice about their future," said Kerry.
Speaking on Wednesday, Kerry called on Russia to be 'very careful' in its judgments, and urged it to keep its commitment with respect to Ukraine's territorial integrity.
The White House has sent financial experts to Ukraine to help its new leaders deal with the economic crisis, Interfax news agency quoted U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns as saying on Wednesday.
Burns was also quoted as saying that the team of experts would remain in Ukraine following his departure later on Wednesday.
Ukraine's interim leaders have also asked the International Monetary Fund to prepare a new financial aid program for the country.
Russia flexes muscle
President Vladimir Putin ordered an urgent drill to test the combat readiness of the armed forces across western Russia on Wednesday, news agencies reported, flexing Moscow's military muscle amid tension with the West over Ukraine.
“In accordance with an order from the president of the Russian Federation, forces of the Western Military District were put on alert at 1400 (1000 GMT) today,” Interfax quoted Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying. The exercice reportedly involves 150,000 Russian combat troops
Putin has ordered several such surprise drills in various parts of Russia since he returned to the presidency in 2012, saying the military must be kept on its toes, but the geopolitical overtones could hardly have been clearer this time.
The western district borders Ukraine, which lies between NATO nations and Russia.
Putin has made no public comment on Ukraine since Yanukovych was driven from power over the weekend.
Shoigu was also quoted as saying that Russia is "carefully watching what is happening in Crimea, what is happening around the Black Sea Fleet."
Russia's Black Sea Naval Fleet is based on the Crimean coast on territory Moscow is leasing from Kyiv.
NATO chimes in
NATO defense ministers threw their support behind Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity on Wednesday as the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych has raised doubts about the country's future.
“A sovereign, independent and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security,” the ministers said in a statement issued during their meeting in Brussels.
“NATO allies will continue to support Ukrainian sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, democratic development, and the principle of inviolability of frontiers, as key factors of stability and security in central and eastern Europe and on the continent as a whole,” they said.
Interim cabinet named
Ukraine's protest leaders on Wednesday named former economy minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as their choice to head a new national unity government following the overthrow of president Viktor Yanukovych.
The "Euromaidan" council made its announcement of Yatsenyuk, plus candidates for several other key ministers, after its members addressed crowds on Kyiv's Independence Square.
Oleksandr Turchynov, acting president since Yanukovych was toppled on Saturday by parliament, said the new government would have to take unpopular decisions to head off default, establish the trust of creditors and investors and guarantee a normal life for Ukraine's people.
The Euromaidan's proposals have to be approved by parliament.
Yanukovych on 'Wanted' list
Meanwhile, Ukraine's ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, has been put on the international “Wanted” list, acting prosecutor-general Oleh Makhnytsky said on Wednesday.
Ukraine's new authorities say that Yanukovych, whose whereabouts are unknown, is wanted for 'mass murder' in connection with the shooting deaths of protesters during the crisis.
Yanukovych's offices and other buildings in Ukraine, including the national bank, were searched on Wednesday as part of an investigation against the ousted president for suspected premeditated murder, the prosecutor-general's office said.
In a statement on its website, the office said: “Within the framework of the criminal investigation ... searches have been carried out at the premises of the presidential administration, the national security and defense council, the national bank and the former residence of Yanukovych.”
Ukraine will also contact international organizations with an official request to help trace bank accounts and assets controlled by ousted president Yanukovych and his allies, the acting-prosecutor general said on Wednesday.
Accusing Yanukovych and his aides of stealing “not millions but billions” of dollars, Makhnytsky told Reuters in an interview that all major commercial deals concluded during his time in power would be reviewed.
“We will check everything: all the schemes of the ex-regime ... We are doing these checks because all the activity of the former regime was built on total corruption,” he said.
fuente. La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/content/us-britain-no-zero-sum-game-for-ukraine/1859367.html
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