JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
THE RUSSIA - UKRAINE SITUATION AT 8:45AM SAT MAR 22,14
OSCE to send observers to Ukraine-Today Mar 22,14 @ 11:14-By EUOBSERVER
The European multilateral club, the OSCE, is to send 100 civilian monitors to Ukraine for an initial period of six months, with the number of staff to grow to 400 later on. The US said the Kiev-based mission can go into Crimea, but Russia denies this.
All sides will benefit from the decision to deploy an OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Swiss OSCE Chair says-Bern 21 March 2014
Bern, March 21, 2014 – The decision of the Permanent Council of the OSCE today to deploy a Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was welcomed by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister, Didier Burkhalter.Consensus on the mandate could be reached today due to the readiness of all participating States to continue dialogue and search for compromise even under difficult circumstances, Burkhalter said. All sides will benefit from this decision, he continued. Once more, the OSCE has proven to be a vital framework to foster dialogue, identify common ground, and accomplish meaningful results despite differences. “The OSCE and the Swiss Chairmanship”, Burkhalter added, “will continue their efforts to rebuild bridges and find cooperative solutions to the major political and security challenges that Europe is now confronted with.”The Permanent Council decided in a special session on Ukraine today to deploy an OSCE Special Monitoring Mission of international observers to Ukraine: the mission’s aim is to contribute to reducing tensions and fostering peace, stability and security.Throughout the country, the mission will gather information and report on the security situation as well as establish and report facts regarding incidents, including those concerning alleged violations of fundamental OSCE principles and commitments. It will also monitor the human rights situation in the country, including the rights of national minorities. Facilitating dialogue on the ground to promote normalization of the situation is a further task of the mission.The mandate of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission forsees deployment throughout Ukraine, to the east, south and west of the country. Advance teams will be deployed within 24 hours of the adoption of this decision. Initially, the mission will consist of 100 civilian monitors and may expand by a total of up to 400 additional monitors. The monitoring mission will be deployed for a period of six months, its mandate can be renewed for further six month periods by decision of the Permanent Council if requested by Ukraine.
21 Mar. 2014- NATO-Ukraine crisis is a ''game-changer'' for Allies NATO Secretary General tells Brussels Forum-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-3M1ovMFU0
The crisis in Ukraine is a geo-political “game-changer” for NATO Allies who must strengthen their economic and military ties in wake of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a speech delivered at the ‘Brussels Forum’ on Friday (21 March 2014). “The transatlantic bond and NATO matter more for Europe than ever before,” he said.The Secretary General set out three priorities which he called on Allies to address in wake of the crisis; to reaffirm Allied commitment to collective defence, strengthen support to Ukraine and the wider region, “and to make clear that we can no longer do business as usual with Russia.” Mr. Fogh Rasmussen said the September NATO Summit in Wales will be a key one for Allies to ensure they have the full range of capabilities to deter and defend against any threat.The ‘Brussels Forum’ is organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Mr Fogh Rasmussen was taking part in a panel with his predecessors as Secretary General, Lord Robertson and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
EU ready to supply Ukraine with gas-21.03.14 @ 15:39-By EUOBSERVER
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday after signing an EU association agreement with Ukraine said the bloc had the technical means to export gas to Ukraine via Slovakia, but warned that it would be more expensive than what Kiev used to pay Moscow for the gas imports.
Putin formally gets Crimea; Ukraine, EU sign deal-By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV -MAR 21,14
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin completed his annexation of Crimea on Friday, signing a law making the Black Sea peninsula part of Russia just as Ukraine itself sealed a deal pulling it closer into Europe's orbit.Putin said he saw no need to further retaliate against U.S. sanctions, a newly conciliatory tone that apparently aimed to contain one of the worst crises in Russia's relations with the West since the Cold War. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry said a few hours later that Moscow will "harshly" respond to the latest round of U.S. sanctions — the conflicting signals apparently intended to persuade the West to end the spat over Ukraine.At Ukrainian bases on the peninsula, troops hesitated, besieged by Russian forces and awaiting orders. Russia claimed some had already switched sides and agreed to join the Russian military. Friday had been the deadline for Ukrainian troops to leave Crimea, join the Russian military or demobilize.Russia rushed the annexation of the strategic peninsula after residents there voted in a hastily called referendum Sunday to leave Ukraine and join Russia. Ukraine and the West have rejected the vote, saying it was held at gunpoint since Russian troops had seized control of Crimea two weeks earlier. The U.S. and EU have responded to the crisis by slapping sanctions on Russia.Putin hailed the incorporation of Crimea into Russia as a "remarkable event" before he signed the parliament bills into law Friday in the Kremlin. He also ordered fireworks in Moscow and Crimea.At nearly the same time in a ceremony in Brussels, Ukraine's new prime minister pulled his nation closer to Europe by signing a political association agreement with the European Union. It was the same deal that touched off Ukraine's political crisis, the deal that President Viktor Yanukovych rejected in November, igniting the months of protests that drove him from office and sent him fleeing to Russia."Russia decided to actually impose a new post-Cold War order and revise the results of the Second World War," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in Brussels. "The best way to contain Russia is to impose real economic leverage over them."President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered a second round of sanctions against nearly two dozen members of Putin's inner circle and a major bank supporting them.Moscow retaliated by banning nine U.S. officials and lawmakers from entering Russia, but Putin indicated that Russia would likely refrain from curtailing cooperation in areas such as Afghanistan. Moscow appears to hope to limit the damage.But the latest U.S. sanctions, which targeted Putin's chief of staff along with other senior Kremlin aides and four businessmen considered to be his lifelong friends, dealt a painful blow to Russia. Obama also warned that more sweeping penalties against Russia's economy, including its robust energy sector, could follow.International rating agencies downgraded Russia's outlook and Russian stocks tumbled Friday."The economic impact of the sanctions is already visible — on the stock exchange, the value of the Ruble, the investment climate," EU President Herman Van Rompuy told VRT network.The EU on Friday added 12 more people to bring its list of those facing visa ban and asset freeze sanctions to 33. According to a document obtained on Friday by the Associated Press, the list included some of Russian officials and lawmakers targeted by the first round of U.S. sanctions Monday. Beyond the targeting of officials linked to the annexation of the Crimea Peninsula, the EU leaders also decided at their summit to prepare economic sanction in case the situation in eastern Ukraine would deteriorate further.Putin tried to play down the sanctions' toll on Russia at Friday's televised session of the presidential Security Council.
"We should keep our distance from those people who compromise us," he said, a jocular reference to the officials on the sanctions list, some of whom attended the meeting.Putin added sardonically that he would open an account to keep his salary in the targeted Bank Rossiya, a private bank that is owned by Yuri Kovalchuk, considered to be Putin's longtime friend and banker. With about $10 billion in assets, Rossiya ranks as the 17th-largest bank in Russia and maintains numerous ties to banks in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.At the same time, Putin said he sees no immediate need for further Russian retaliation to the U.S. sanction."We must refrain from retaliatory steps for now," Putin said.He said Russia will keep funding a program to service Afghan helicopters and train their crews that has been conducted jointly with NATO. Russia is expected to play a major role in the planned withdrawal of U.S. and other NATO forces from Afghanistan later this year by providing transit corridors via its territory, and Putin seemed to indicate that the Kremlin at this stage has no intentions of shutting the route.But a few hours later, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow will "respond harshly" to the second round of U.S. sanctions and Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, also said that Russia would retaliate."We will react every time. We responded to the first round of sanctions, and we will respond to those too," he said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.The contradictory messages were highly unusual, and seemed to convey a Kremlin warning to the West to make a deal or face Russia's retaliation.Moscow also appeared to be warming to the deployment of monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the top trans-Atlantic security and rights group. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would welcome sending the OSCE observers to Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine on condition that their number and locations are clearly set, but he made it clear that they wouldn't be let into Crimea.In Crimea, heavily armed Russian forces and pro-Russia militia have blocked Ukrainian military at their bases for weeks. Following Sunday's referendum they have moved aggressively to flush the Ukrainians out, storming some ships and military facilities.The Ukrainian government said it was drawing up plans to evacuate its outnumbered troops from Crimea. But at the Ukrainian military air base in Belbek, outside Sevastopol, Col. Yuly Mamchur told reporters Friday he was still waiting for orders from his commanders on whether to vacate.Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday told Putin that 72 Ukrainian military units in Crimea have decided to join the Russian military. His claim couldn't be independently confirmed. Amid its political crisis, Ukraine is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, struggling to pay off billions of dollars in debts in the coming months. The U.S. and the European Union have pledged to quickly offer a bailout.It owes Russia $2 billion in overdue payments for natural gas supplies. Putin made it clear that Russia will further raise the heat on Ukraine by urging it to pay back a $3 billion bailout loan granted to Yanukovych in December.__Mike Corder and Raf Casert in Brussels, Belgium and John-Thor Dahlburg in Sevastopol, Crimea, contributed to this report.
NATO, Ukraine join military exercise in Bulgaria-March 21, 2014 7:16 AM
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Ukraine has joined two weeks of multinational military exercises that involve troops from 12 NATO member and partner nations, and demonstrate that cooperation continues between the alliance and the crisis-torn former Soviet republic.The drills, dubbed Saber Guardian, began Friday at the Novo Selo training facility in eastern Bulgaria and will include some 700 troops from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States, as well as representatives from NATO.The exercise, planned before the current East-West standoff over Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, is aimed at increasing regional flexibility, preserving and enhancing NATO interoperability, and facilitating multinational training, U.S. Army Europe spokesman Jesse Granger said.It follows joint exercises by U.S., Romanian and Bulgarian naval forces in the Black Sea.
Poland speeds up missile defense plan amid Ukraine crisis-By Marcin Goettig and Andrea Shalal -MAR 21,14-(This March 20 story was corrected to show selection of best offer to take place within months, not weeks, after clarification from Polish Defence Ministry; also replaces comments from Defence Ministry spokesman)-By Marcin Goettig and Andrea Shalal
WARSAW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Poland has decided to speed up its tender for a missile defense system, the Defence Ministry said, in a sign of Warsaw's disquiet over the tension between neighboring Ukraine and Russia."By the end of this year we want to already have chosen an offer. That is the acceleration by several months, compared to our original plans, that we are talking about," Czeslaw Mroczek, Deputy Defence Minister, told Reuters.The NATO member had planned to determine the supplier of its missile defence system in 2015, but the crisis in Ukraine and concerns about Russia's annexation of Crimea have prompted officials to speed up the timetable.There are four bidders: France's Thales, in a consortium with European group MBDA and the Polish state defence group; the Israeli government; Raytheon of the United States; and the MEADS consortium led by Lockheed Martin.One of the bidders, MEADS, said the tender was worth about $5 billion, but experts say the whole missile defence system could be worth as much as 40 billion zlotys ($13 billion), including maintenance costs. It is to be completed by the end of 2022.Mroczek said the decision to accelerate the process was partly caused by Russia's military intervention in Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula."To a certain extent, the decision on accelerating this process is the result of a review commissioned by the prime minister and the defence minister because of the situation in Ukraine," Mroczek said.Poland fell under Soviet domination after World War Two, along with the rest of Eastern Europe, but was one of the first to shake off Communist rule in 1989. It has taken an active diplomatic role in the crisis over Ukraine, including by requesting NATO consultations earlier this month.U.S. Congressman Stephen Lynch welcomed Poland's decision to speed up its defence plans."I think the action in Crimea makes it abundantly clear that NATO needs to do more to upgrade its defenses, not just missile defenses," the Massachusetts Democrat told Reuters."But certainly I can fully support the decision by Poland to expedite that whole process and I think it's entirely appropriate that we should support that effort," he added.The first phase of the Polish system is to comprise eight sets of mid-range interceptor rockets, which may later be supplemented by short-range ones. Poland has already passed legislation to secure funding for the shield, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.The planned system is separate from elements of a U.S. missile shield to be deployed in Poland by 2018, as confirmed by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on a visit to Warsaw this week. ($1 = 3.0482 Polish Zlotys)(Additional reporting by Dan Williams; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
EU and Ukraine sign 2% of association treaty-21.03.14 @ 16:46-By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - EU and Ukrainian leaders have described as “historic” the signature of what amounts to 2 percent of an association and free trade treaty.The 28 EU Prime Ministers and Presidents, Ukraine’s interim PM, and top EU officials in Brussels on Friday (21 March) put ink on the same accord that was rejected by ousted Ukrainian chief Viktor Yanukovych last November.“The refusal to sign the association agreement with the European Union created a popular uprising, a political and cultural shift. We pay tribute to those who gave their life for freedom … It [the signature] is a sign of our solidarity,” EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy said.Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted: “This deal meets the aspirations of millions of Ukrainians that want to be part of the European Union.”In concrete terms, Friday’s signature covers 21 out of the 1,378 pages (excluding annexes and protocols), or some 2 percent, of the full accord.The 21 pages contain a preamble, some general principles for bilateral relations, and plans for joint foreign and security policy, for instance, on arms proliferation.They also bind the EU to respect Ukraine’s “territorial integrity. ”The other 1,357 pages - a far-reaching alignment of Ukrainian commercial law and standards with the EU rulebook, or acquis - are to be signed on an uspecified date after Ukraine’s presidential elections on 25 May.Amid the flowery words in Brussels, some EU diplomats fear the part-signature will be greeted with disappointment by average Ukrainians.“People have died for the EU, and this is the solution we come up with,” one EU diplomat said.Despite Yatsenyuk’s comment on “aspirations,” the treaty preamble designates Ukraine as “a European country [which] shares a common history and common values” with EU states.The formula, which makes no reference to EU enlargement, effectively puts the topic on ice for several years.When asked on Ukraine’s accession prospects, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday: “We need to see how the discussion in Ukraine progresses.” Polish leader Donald Tusk said: “That’s not for today. Let’s face it, Ukraine has more serious problems to tackle [now] … There is no need to rush the course of history.”The EU commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity comes on the same day that Russia formally annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea.
EU leaders blacklisted 12 people and cancelled a summit with Russia in protest. But they said Russia can keep the territory without incurring more painful economic sanctions. “This [the annexation] is not an element to trigger stage three [of sanctions],” Van Rompuy noted.Aside from disappointing Ukrainian people, the delay of the full treaty signature carries other risks.It means Ukraine is not yet legally bound to stay out of Russia’s Customs Union.It is unclear if Ukraine’s next president will want to sign.Dmytro Yarosh, the leader of the Pravyi Sektor, a militant nationalist group, on Friday said he will run for the post. He also said Ukraine should have a “non-aligned status,” rejecting both EU integration and Russia’s Customs Union.It also remains to be seen what levers Moscow will pull in the next few months.Russia on Friday said it wants the nearly-bankrupt Ukraine to pay $11 billion of gas debts.One EU diplomat voiced concern that if Ukraine’s former PM, Yulia Tymoshenko, returns to power, she might make a deal with the Kremlin: “She could try to become a hero by going to Moscow and winning concessions, on the invasion or on other issues, in return for an EU treaty-lite.”
Why not sign the whole thing?
There are different versions on why the EU split the pact.EU officials say it was so that Ukrainian politicians can muster popular support for the trade deal, which comes with painful reforms, in their election campaigns. Merkel said Yatsenyuk, Tymoshenko’s ally, came up with the idea: “Ukraine wanted to sign the political part only. We are willing to sign the second part on trade, but it has implications for Ukraine-Russia trade, so we respect their wishes.”
The EU diplomat cited two other motives.
The contact said large member states, including Germany, favour postponement in light of Russia’s military action because “there is a feeling it might provoke the Russians if we sign the whole agreement [now].”The source added that anti-enlargement states, such as France, are wary of the treaty implications.“The trade and economic parts of the agreement would make Ukraine into an 80-percent member state in terms of acquis compliance. It would make them closer to the EU than the Western Balkan countries [which have an accession promise]. So if they one day applied for membership, it would be very hard to say No on objective criteria,” the contact said.
OTHER RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEWS I DONE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/malaysia-airlines-plane-with-239-on.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/pentagon-not-ready-for-cold-war-with.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/empty-suit-obama-i-will-definately-not.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimean-forces-take-ukrainian-navy.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/putin-makes-treaty-crimea-officially.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/european-west-ready-to-sanction-russia.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-becomes-part-of-russia-today.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/2-killed-in-ukraine-crimea-as-one-day.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-ukraine-situation-fri-2-days.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-invasion-of-crimea-continues.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-russia-ukraine-situation-this-day.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-wants-independence-not-russian.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-blamed-for-deaths-in-ukraine.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russian-forces-tighten-grip-on-crimea.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-ukraine-situation-today.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-has-this-crimea-situation-well.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/eu-leads-diplomacy-on-ukraine-crimea.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/putin-pulls-back-from-brink-of-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russias-stock-market-fell-11-and-lost.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/watch-stock-markets-oil-today-from-this.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russian-troops-surround-ukraines-army.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-unanamously-approves-troops-in.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/russia-troops-copters-in-crimea-and-kiev.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/watch-for-afghanistan-to-have-next-arab.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/is-this-ukraine-situation-beggining-of.html
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
THE RUSSIA - UKRAINE SITUATION AT 8:45AM SAT MAR 22,14
OSCE to send observers to Ukraine-Today Mar 22,14 @ 11:14-By EUOBSERVER
The European multilateral club, the OSCE, is to send 100 civilian monitors to Ukraine for an initial period of six months, with the number of staff to grow to 400 later on. The US said the Kiev-based mission can go into Crimea, but Russia denies this.
All sides will benefit from the decision to deploy an OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Swiss OSCE Chair says-Bern 21 March 2014
Bern, March 21, 2014 – The decision of the Permanent Council of the OSCE today to deploy a Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was welcomed by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss Foreign Minister, Didier Burkhalter.Consensus on the mandate could be reached today due to the readiness of all participating States to continue dialogue and search for compromise even under difficult circumstances, Burkhalter said. All sides will benefit from this decision, he continued. Once more, the OSCE has proven to be a vital framework to foster dialogue, identify common ground, and accomplish meaningful results despite differences. “The OSCE and the Swiss Chairmanship”, Burkhalter added, “will continue their efforts to rebuild bridges and find cooperative solutions to the major political and security challenges that Europe is now confronted with.”The Permanent Council decided in a special session on Ukraine today to deploy an OSCE Special Monitoring Mission of international observers to Ukraine: the mission’s aim is to contribute to reducing tensions and fostering peace, stability and security.Throughout the country, the mission will gather information and report on the security situation as well as establish and report facts regarding incidents, including those concerning alleged violations of fundamental OSCE principles and commitments. It will also monitor the human rights situation in the country, including the rights of national minorities. Facilitating dialogue on the ground to promote normalization of the situation is a further task of the mission.The mandate of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission forsees deployment throughout Ukraine, to the east, south and west of the country. Advance teams will be deployed within 24 hours of the adoption of this decision. Initially, the mission will consist of 100 civilian monitors and may expand by a total of up to 400 additional monitors. The monitoring mission will be deployed for a period of six months, its mandate can be renewed for further six month periods by decision of the Permanent Council if requested by Ukraine.
21 Mar. 2014- NATO-Ukraine crisis is a ''game-changer'' for Allies NATO Secretary General tells Brussels Forum-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-3M1ovMFU0
The crisis in Ukraine is a geo-political “game-changer” for NATO Allies who must strengthen their economic and military ties in wake of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a speech delivered at the ‘Brussels Forum’ on Friday (21 March 2014). “The transatlantic bond and NATO matter more for Europe than ever before,” he said.The Secretary General set out three priorities which he called on Allies to address in wake of the crisis; to reaffirm Allied commitment to collective defence, strengthen support to Ukraine and the wider region, “and to make clear that we can no longer do business as usual with Russia.” Mr. Fogh Rasmussen said the September NATO Summit in Wales will be a key one for Allies to ensure they have the full range of capabilities to deter and defend against any threat.The ‘Brussels Forum’ is organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Mr Fogh Rasmussen was taking part in a panel with his predecessors as Secretary General, Lord Robertson and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
EU ready to supply Ukraine with gas-21.03.14 @ 15:39-By EUOBSERVER
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday after signing an EU association agreement with Ukraine said the bloc had the technical means to export gas to Ukraine via Slovakia, but warned that it would be more expensive than what Kiev used to pay Moscow for the gas imports.
Putin formally gets Crimea; Ukraine, EU sign deal-By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV -MAR 21,14
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin completed his annexation of Crimea on Friday, signing a law making the Black Sea peninsula part of Russia just as Ukraine itself sealed a deal pulling it closer into Europe's orbit.Putin said he saw no need to further retaliate against U.S. sanctions, a newly conciliatory tone that apparently aimed to contain one of the worst crises in Russia's relations with the West since the Cold War. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry said a few hours later that Moscow will "harshly" respond to the latest round of U.S. sanctions — the conflicting signals apparently intended to persuade the West to end the spat over Ukraine.At Ukrainian bases on the peninsula, troops hesitated, besieged by Russian forces and awaiting orders. Russia claimed some had already switched sides and agreed to join the Russian military. Friday had been the deadline for Ukrainian troops to leave Crimea, join the Russian military or demobilize.Russia rushed the annexation of the strategic peninsula after residents there voted in a hastily called referendum Sunday to leave Ukraine and join Russia. Ukraine and the West have rejected the vote, saying it was held at gunpoint since Russian troops had seized control of Crimea two weeks earlier. The U.S. and EU have responded to the crisis by slapping sanctions on Russia.Putin hailed the incorporation of Crimea into Russia as a "remarkable event" before he signed the parliament bills into law Friday in the Kremlin. He also ordered fireworks in Moscow and Crimea.At nearly the same time in a ceremony in Brussels, Ukraine's new prime minister pulled his nation closer to Europe by signing a political association agreement with the European Union. It was the same deal that touched off Ukraine's political crisis, the deal that President Viktor Yanukovych rejected in November, igniting the months of protests that drove him from office and sent him fleeing to Russia."Russia decided to actually impose a new post-Cold War order and revise the results of the Second World War," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in Brussels. "The best way to contain Russia is to impose real economic leverage over them."President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered a second round of sanctions against nearly two dozen members of Putin's inner circle and a major bank supporting them.Moscow retaliated by banning nine U.S. officials and lawmakers from entering Russia, but Putin indicated that Russia would likely refrain from curtailing cooperation in areas such as Afghanistan. Moscow appears to hope to limit the damage.But the latest U.S. sanctions, which targeted Putin's chief of staff along with other senior Kremlin aides and four businessmen considered to be his lifelong friends, dealt a painful blow to Russia. Obama also warned that more sweeping penalties against Russia's economy, including its robust energy sector, could follow.International rating agencies downgraded Russia's outlook and Russian stocks tumbled Friday."The economic impact of the sanctions is already visible — on the stock exchange, the value of the Ruble, the investment climate," EU President Herman Van Rompuy told VRT network.The EU on Friday added 12 more people to bring its list of those facing visa ban and asset freeze sanctions to 33. According to a document obtained on Friday by the Associated Press, the list included some of Russian officials and lawmakers targeted by the first round of U.S. sanctions Monday. Beyond the targeting of officials linked to the annexation of the Crimea Peninsula, the EU leaders also decided at their summit to prepare economic sanction in case the situation in eastern Ukraine would deteriorate further.Putin tried to play down the sanctions' toll on Russia at Friday's televised session of the presidential Security Council.
"We should keep our distance from those people who compromise us," he said, a jocular reference to the officials on the sanctions list, some of whom attended the meeting.Putin added sardonically that he would open an account to keep his salary in the targeted Bank Rossiya, a private bank that is owned by Yuri Kovalchuk, considered to be Putin's longtime friend and banker. With about $10 billion in assets, Rossiya ranks as the 17th-largest bank in Russia and maintains numerous ties to banks in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.At the same time, Putin said he sees no immediate need for further Russian retaliation to the U.S. sanction."We must refrain from retaliatory steps for now," Putin said.He said Russia will keep funding a program to service Afghan helicopters and train their crews that has been conducted jointly with NATO. Russia is expected to play a major role in the planned withdrawal of U.S. and other NATO forces from Afghanistan later this year by providing transit corridors via its territory, and Putin seemed to indicate that the Kremlin at this stage has no intentions of shutting the route.But a few hours later, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow will "respond harshly" to the second round of U.S. sanctions and Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, also said that Russia would retaliate."We will react every time. We responded to the first round of sanctions, and we will respond to those too," he said, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.The contradictory messages were highly unusual, and seemed to convey a Kremlin warning to the West to make a deal or face Russia's retaliation.Moscow also appeared to be warming to the deployment of monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the top trans-Atlantic security and rights group. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would welcome sending the OSCE observers to Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine on condition that their number and locations are clearly set, but he made it clear that they wouldn't be let into Crimea.In Crimea, heavily armed Russian forces and pro-Russia militia have blocked Ukrainian military at their bases for weeks. Following Sunday's referendum they have moved aggressively to flush the Ukrainians out, storming some ships and military facilities.The Ukrainian government said it was drawing up plans to evacuate its outnumbered troops from Crimea. But at the Ukrainian military air base in Belbek, outside Sevastopol, Col. Yuly Mamchur told reporters Friday he was still waiting for orders from his commanders on whether to vacate.Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday told Putin that 72 Ukrainian military units in Crimea have decided to join the Russian military. His claim couldn't be independently confirmed. Amid its political crisis, Ukraine is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, struggling to pay off billions of dollars in debts in the coming months. The U.S. and the European Union have pledged to quickly offer a bailout.It owes Russia $2 billion in overdue payments for natural gas supplies. Putin made it clear that Russia will further raise the heat on Ukraine by urging it to pay back a $3 billion bailout loan granted to Yanukovych in December.__Mike Corder and Raf Casert in Brussels, Belgium and John-Thor Dahlburg in Sevastopol, Crimea, contributed to this report.
NATO, Ukraine join military exercise in Bulgaria-March 21, 2014 7:16 AM
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Ukraine has joined two weeks of multinational military exercises that involve troops from 12 NATO member and partner nations, and demonstrate that cooperation continues between the alliance and the crisis-torn former Soviet republic.The drills, dubbed Saber Guardian, began Friday at the Novo Selo training facility in eastern Bulgaria and will include some 700 troops from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States, as well as representatives from NATO.The exercise, planned before the current East-West standoff over Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, is aimed at increasing regional flexibility, preserving and enhancing NATO interoperability, and facilitating multinational training, U.S. Army Europe spokesman Jesse Granger said.It follows joint exercises by U.S., Romanian and Bulgarian naval forces in the Black Sea.
Poland speeds up missile defense plan amid Ukraine crisis-By Marcin Goettig and Andrea Shalal -MAR 21,14-(This March 20 story was corrected to show selection of best offer to take place within months, not weeks, after clarification from Polish Defence Ministry; also replaces comments from Defence Ministry spokesman)-By Marcin Goettig and Andrea Shalal
WARSAW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Poland has decided to speed up its tender for a missile defense system, the Defence Ministry said, in a sign of Warsaw's disquiet over the tension between neighboring Ukraine and Russia."By the end of this year we want to already have chosen an offer. That is the acceleration by several months, compared to our original plans, that we are talking about," Czeslaw Mroczek, Deputy Defence Minister, told Reuters.The NATO member had planned to determine the supplier of its missile defence system in 2015, but the crisis in Ukraine and concerns about Russia's annexation of Crimea have prompted officials to speed up the timetable.There are four bidders: France's Thales, in a consortium with European group MBDA and the Polish state defence group; the Israeli government; Raytheon of the United States; and the MEADS consortium led by Lockheed Martin.One of the bidders, MEADS, said the tender was worth about $5 billion, but experts say the whole missile defence system could be worth as much as 40 billion zlotys ($13 billion), including maintenance costs. It is to be completed by the end of 2022.Mroczek said the decision to accelerate the process was partly caused by Russia's military intervention in Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula."To a certain extent, the decision on accelerating this process is the result of a review commissioned by the prime minister and the defence minister because of the situation in Ukraine," Mroczek said.Poland fell under Soviet domination after World War Two, along with the rest of Eastern Europe, but was one of the first to shake off Communist rule in 1989. It has taken an active diplomatic role in the crisis over Ukraine, including by requesting NATO consultations earlier this month.U.S. Congressman Stephen Lynch welcomed Poland's decision to speed up its defence plans."I think the action in Crimea makes it abundantly clear that NATO needs to do more to upgrade its defenses, not just missile defenses," the Massachusetts Democrat told Reuters."But certainly I can fully support the decision by Poland to expedite that whole process and I think it's entirely appropriate that we should support that effort," he added.The first phase of the Polish system is to comprise eight sets of mid-range interceptor rockets, which may later be supplemented by short-range ones. Poland has already passed legislation to secure funding for the shield, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.The planned system is separate from elements of a U.S. missile shield to be deployed in Poland by 2018, as confirmed by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on a visit to Warsaw this week. ($1 = 3.0482 Polish Zlotys)(Additional reporting by Dan Williams; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
EU and Ukraine sign 2% of association treaty-21.03.14 @ 16:46-By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - EU and Ukrainian leaders have described as “historic” the signature of what amounts to 2 percent of an association and free trade treaty.The 28 EU Prime Ministers and Presidents, Ukraine’s interim PM, and top EU officials in Brussels on Friday (21 March) put ink on the same accord that was rejected by ousted Ukrainian chief Viktor Yanukovych last November.“The refusal to sign the association agreement with the European Union created a popular uprising, a political and cultural shift. We pay tribute to those who gave their life for freedom … It [the signature] is a sign of our solidarity,” EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy said.Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted: “This deal meets the aspirations of millions of Ukrainians that want to be part of the European Union.”In concrete terms, Friday’s signature covers 21 out of the 1,378 pages (excluding annexes and protocols), or some 2 percent, of the full accord.The 21 pages contain a preamble, some general principles for bilateral relations, and plans for joint foreign and security policy, for instance, on arms proliferation.They also bind the EU to respect Ukraine’s “territorial integrity. ”The other 1,357 pages - a far-reaching alignment of Ukrainian commercial law and standards with the EU rulebook, or acquis - are to be signed on an uspecified date after Ukraine’s presidential elections on 25 May.Amid the flowery words in Brussels, some EU diplomats fear the part-signature will be greeted with disappointment by average Ukrainians.“People have died for the EU, and this is the solution we come up with,” one EU diplomat said.Despite Yatsenyuk’s comment on “aspirations,” the treaty preamble designates Ukraine as “a European country [which] shares a common history and common values” with EU states.The formula, which makes no reference to EU enlargement, effectively puts the topic on ice for several years.When asked on Ukraine’s accession prospects, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday: “We need to see how the discussion in Ukraine progresses.” Polish leader Donald Tusk said: “That’s not for today. Let’s face it, Ukraine has more serious problems to tackle [now] … There is no need to rush the course of history.”The EU commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity comes on the same day that Russia formally annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea.
EU leaders blacklisted 12 people and cancelled a summit with Russia in protest. But they said Russia can keep the territory without incurring more painful economic sanctions. “This [the annexation] is not an element to trigger stage three [of sanctions],” Van Rompuy noted.Aside from disappointing Ukrainian people, the delay of the full treaty signature carries other risks.It means Ukraine is not yet legally bound to stay out of Russia’s Customs Union.It is unclear if Ukraine’s next president will want to sign.Dmytro Yarosh, the leader of the Pravyi Sektor, a militant nationalist group, on Friday said he will run for the post. He also said Ukraine should have a “non-aligned status,” rejecting both EU integration and Russia’s Customs Union.It also remains to be seen what levers Moscow will pull in the next few months.Russia on Friday said it wants the nearly-bankrupt Ukraine to pay $11 billion of gas debts.One EU diplomat voiced concern that if Ukraine’s former PM, Yulia Tymoshenko, returns to power, she might make a deal with the Kremlin: “She could try to become a hero by going to Moscow and winning concessions, on the invasion or on other issues, in return for an EU treaty-lite.”
Why not sign the whole thing?
There are different versions on why the EU split the pact.EU officials say it was so that Ukrainian politicians can muster popular support for the trade deal, which comes with painful reforms, in their election campaigns. Merkel said Yatsenyuk, Tymoshenko’s ally, came up with the idea: “Ukraine wanted to sign the political part only. We are willing to sign the second part on trade, but it has implications for Ukraine-Russia trade, so we respect their wishes.”
The EU diplomat cited two other motives.
The contact said large member states, including Germany, favour postponement in light of Russia’s military action because “there is a feeling it might provoke the Russians if we sign the whole agreement [now].”The source added that anti-enlargement states, such as France, are wary of the treaty implications.“The trade and economic parts of the agreement would make Ukraine into an 80-percent member state in terms of acquis compliance. It would make them closer to the EU than the Western Balkan countries [which have an accession promise]. So if they one day applied for membership, it would be very hard to say No on objective criteria,” the contact said.
OTHER RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEWS I DONE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/malaysia-airlines-plane-with-239-on.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/pentagon-not-ready-for-cold-war-with.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/empty-suit-obama-i-will-definately-not.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimean-forces-take-ukrainian-navy.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/putin-makes-treaty-crimea-officially.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/european-west-ready-to-sanction-russia.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-becomes-part-of-russia-today.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/2-killed-in-ukraine-crimea-as-one-day.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-ukraine-situation-fri-2-days.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-invasion-of-crimea-continues.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-russia-ukraine-situation-this-day.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-wants-independence-not-russian.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-blamed-for-deaths-in-ukraine.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russian-forces-tighten-grip-on-crimea.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-ukraine-situation-today.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-has-this-crimea-situation-well.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/eu-leads-diplomacy-on-ukraine-crimea.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/putin-pulls-back-from-brink-of-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russias-stock-market-fell-11-and-lost.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/watch-stock-markets-oil-today-from-this.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russian-troops-surround-ukraines-army.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-unanamously-approves-troops-in.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/russia-troops-copters-in-crimea-and-kiev.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/watch-for-afghanistan-to-have-next-arab.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/is-this-ukraine-situation-beggining-of.html
