The Battle for Novorussiya

[Lauren Johnson]

Leaked issues from Minsk II summary Vladimir Suchan FB and from Yahoo News:

Either Germany's or France's diplomatic sources leaked some details about the talks in Minsk to AP:

1. Ukraine's key demand is that Russia withdraws its troops and weapons from the country.

2. Ukraine is demanding that it gets back control over its border with Russia and that rebels hand back border posts they have captured. It also wants the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to monitor the border to stem the flow of Russian troops and weapons. Russia has allowed OSCE monitors at two border checkpoints, but said the OSCE needs to talk to the rebels to monitor other sections of the border. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Wednesday that border controls could only be fully restored after Ukraine gives a broad autonomy to the east, grants amnesty to the rebels [amnesty granted by Nazis to their victims that they dared to fight back ... that's a new idea!] and ends its financial blockade of rebel-controlled areas.

3. Russian President Vladimir Putin's fears that Ukraine will eventually join NATO triggered the current crisis and he will keep urging the West to guarantee that Ukraine will not become part of the military alliance. The West says Ukraine has a sovereign right to determine its own future. Concessions on the subject are unlikely since the Ukrainian parliament dropped the nation's non-aligned status last month.

4. The exact measure of autonomy for Ukraine's rebellious east is a major sticking point in the talks. Russia has demanded that the Ukrainian government approve a wide autonomy for the separatist eastern regions.

5. Russia has talked about the potential deployment of international peacekeepers to monitor the cease-fire, while Ukraine has remained cautious about the idea. Russia appears to want a peacekeeping contingent that includes soldiers from Moscow-friendly ex-Soviet nations like Kazakhstan, Belarus or Azerbaijan something Ukraine reportedly opposes.