Poroshenko Seeks Merkel’s Support as Russia Bristles

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Tony Czuczka, Kateryna Choursina- October 16, 2014)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel blamed the Kremlin for continuing to stoke the Ukraine conflict as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that he won’t be blackmailed over the crisis.

“Russia must make the decisive contribution to de-escalation,” Merkel told parliament in Berlin today. “The situation in Ukraine remains extremely difficult despite the cease-fire.”

Merkel is due to have talks with Putin this evening in Milan on the sidelines of a European Union-Asia ASEM summit. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet Putin tomorrow at the two-day gathering in an encounter attended by Merkel, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

The U.S., the EU and Ukraine say Russia is aiding the rebels’ separatist aims to prevent the country of more than 40 million from deepening ties with the EU and NATO. Putin denies any military involvement and has traded sanctions with Russia’s former Cold War foes that have hit both the EU and Russian economies, pushing the latter toward the brink of recession.

Merkel says she’ll raise three points in her talks with Putin: Russia must pull back its armed forces from the border region; the Ukraine-Russia border must be secured; and Ukraine must be able to carry out elections on its entire territory under Ukrainian election law.

Russian Dialogue

The German leader said Russia’s violation of international law regarding the annexation of Crimea in March must be countered and that EU sanctions on Russia are an important part of efforts to resolve the crisis. “But sanctions don’t rule out dialogue” with Russia, she said.

Putin said U.S. and EU pressure on Russia over the Ukraine crisis won’t work.

“We hope that our partners will realize the futility of attempts to blackmail Russia and remember what consequences discord between major nuclear powers could bring for strategic stability,” Putin told Serbia’s Politika newspaper before his visit to the Balkan nation today en route to Milan.

The ruble slid to a record as the Bank of Russia’s pledge to provide $50 billion of foreign currency through 2016 failed to ease the rout amid an oil slump. The currency dropped 1 percent to 45.9935 at 1:48 p.m. in Moscow. The Micex index of Russian stocks fell 0.7 percent.

Shelling Continues

Fighting continued in easternmost Ukraine as insurgents used multiple-rocket launchers to shell government troops northwest of Luhansk during the past 24 hours, the military press office in Kiev said in statement today on Facebook.

Three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and nine wounded in combat over the same period, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters in Kiev.

There’s no “large pullback of Russian troops” from Ukraine’s border and the Kremlin continues to send mercenaries and arms to rebels, Lysenko said, adding that separatists are concentrating forces near Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.

Rebels fired at Ukrainian positions in at least six locations yesterday including residential buildings in Nikishyne between Donetsk and Luhansk, according to the statement.

Ukrainian government forces remain in control of Donetsk Airport after being fired at last night.

Poroshenko is trying to ensure his country has enough natural gas to keep Ukraine’s people warm and its factories running this winter.

The EU, which gets about 15 percent of its gas piped across Ukraine from Russia, has been seeking to broker an interim deal between Putin and Poroshenko to avoid a repeat of supply cuts in early 2006 and 2009.

The next round of Russian-Ukrainian gas talks will be held in Brussels on Oct. 21, and not in Berlin as had been previously planned, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said today.

Article ©2014 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved. Article also appeared at bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-15/poroshenko-seeks-merkel-s-support-as-russia-bristles.html