01 April 2014

No surprise there


The BBC has an article about the Ukraine:
NATO is not seeing a Russian troop pullout from the border with the Ukraine, the military alliance's chief has said. Anders Fogh Rasmussen again stressed that the best way to solve the crisis was through "a political dialogue". NATO foreign ministers are now discussing ways to help the Ukraine and also reassure its allies in Eastern Europe. This comes after Russia's takeover last month of the Ukraine's Crimean region. Meanwhile, Moscow warned Kiev against integration with NATO.
It is the first time ministers from the 28-member NATO bloc have convened since the annexation of the Crimea. The alliance has also bolstered air drills to be held over the Baltic states.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently told German Chancellor Angela Merkel he had ordered a partial withdrawal of Russian troops near the eastern border of Ukraine, according to the German government. Moscow is believed to have massed tens of thousands of soldiers there in recent days, causing alarm in Kiev and the West.
NATO sources say some thirty- to forty-thousand Russian troops are massed near the Ukraine's eastern border. The Russians say this is a military drill, but what is worrying Western intelligence experts is that there is actually very little exercising going on. The troops are simply deployed and waiting. Tanks, mechanized infantry, and Special Forces, many of them among Russia's most capable units, are all in the field and they have the logistical back-up to keep them there for some considerable time.
The Ukraine's parliament ordered security services to disarm all "illegal armed groups", following a recent shooting in Kiev that involved a member of the radical Right Sector group. MPs in Kiev voted to allow to hold joint military exercises with NATO and other nations on Ukrainian soil.
Russia's upper house of parliament voted to pull out of a treaty with the Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet's presence in the Crimea. Tensions between the Kremlin and the West rose after the overthrow of pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in February of 2014, following months of street protests. Russia's subsequent decision to annex the Crimea, after a Moscow-backed referendum that was later condemned as illegal by the UN General Assembly, triggered a crisis in relations.
The US and EU have imposed sanctions on members of President Putin's inner circle and other officials. Russia has retaliated with its own sanctions on US politicians.
"Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that Russia is withdrawing its troops," Rasmussen told reporters. "This is not what we are seeing." He said Moscow had undermined the principles on which a NATO-Russia partnership was built, adding that there could be no more "business as usual". Russia has said the troops deployed along its border with Ukraine are taking part in military exercises.
The US Air Force has sent ten F-15 jets to help NATO boost its military presence in the Baltic states.
"Russia's aggression against the Ukraine challenges our vision of a Europe whole free and at peace," Rasmussen said. NATO foreign ministers later began discussing the formal suspension of co-operation with Moscow at their meeting in Brussels. In an earlier statement, NATO said ministers would speak to acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia about ways to support the Ukraine with its defense reforms.
In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry warned Kiev against any attempts to join NATO, saying such efforts in the past had "led to a freezing of Russian-Ukrainian political contacts, a 'headache' in NATO-Russia relations and... a deepening split within Ukrainian society". In Brussels, NATO ministers are looking at options, including situating permanent military bases in the Baltic states to reassure members in Eastern Europe.
Russia's actions in the Ukraine have rattled nerves in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which were part of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. NATO jets will take part in air patrols in the region later in a routine exercise that analysts say has taken on added significance due to the crisis. Several NATO countries, including the UK, the US, and France, have offered additional warplanes.
Rico says it's back to the Cold-ish War again...

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