Russia,
Ukraine leaders meet, but no breakthrough
Reuters, MILAN, Italy
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko met an array
of EU leaders yesterday, but there was little sign of progress in patching up a ceasefire
in eastern Ukraine and resolving a dispute over natural gas supplies.
Putin held more than 2.5 hours of talks with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel overnight. The Kremlin said afterwards the pair were still at odds over how to
resolve a crisis that has revived the specter of old Cold War rivalries.
“The two leaders continued to express serious differences in views
on the source of Ukraine’s domestic conflict, as well as root causes for what
is happening there today,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The West has imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea earlier this year and its
support of pro-Russian separatists fighting in the east of Ukraine.
European leaders, in Milan for a EU-Asia summit, urged Russia to do more to end
constant, deadly violations of a ceasefire that was agreed by Putin and
Poroshenko last month in Minsk.
“It is obviously above all Russia’s task to make clear that the
Minsk plan is adhered to,”
Merkel said on Thursday.
Europe fears Russia’s decision to cut gas supplies to Ukraine because
of unpaid bills could threaten disruptions in the gas flow to the rest of the
continent this winter and is working hard to broker a deal.
Russia is Europe’s biggest gas supplier, meeting about a third of
demand, and the EU gets about half of the Russian gas it uses via Ukraine.
Kiev and its Western backers accuse Moscow of aiding a pro-Russian
separatist revolt
in eastern Ukraine by providing troops and arms. Russia denies the charges, but
says it has a right to defend the interests of the region’s Russian-speaking
majority.
Taking the lead in the Milan diplomacy, Merkel saw Poroshenko on
Thursday evening.
“The meeting went very well and we have seen a great demonstration
of support for Ukraine,” Poroshenko said afterwards.
The German leader then met Putin until well after midnight.
Speaking off the record, a German official said the pair had discussed implementation of the
Minsk accord, with
Merkel telling Putin that Russia had to meet its commitments to enable a de-escalation.
Italian radio said that afterwards, Putin attended a party thrown
by his friend former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. He did not leave
until after 3am, but looked sprightly
as he arrived for yesterday’s talks at 8am.
Putin warned on Thursday that Russia would reduce gas supplies to
Europe if Ukraine steals from the transit pipeline to cover its own needs,
although he added that he was “hopeful” it would not come to that.
“I can reassure you that there will be no crisis that could be
blamed on Russian participants in energy cooperation,” Putin told reporters
during a visit to Serbia.
However, he said, “there are big transit risks.”
Structure of the Lead:
WHO- Russia
and Ukraine leaders
WHEN- yesterday
WHAT- there was little sign of progress in patching up a
ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and
resolving a dispute over
natural gas supplies.
WHY- The two leaders continued to express serious differences in
views on the source of
Ukraine’s domestic conflict, as well as
root causes for what is happening there today.
WHERE- Italy
HOW- European leaders, in Milan for a EU-Asia summit, urged
Russia to do more to end
constant, deadly violations of a ceasefire.
Key words:
1. array: 陣容
2. patching up: 修補
3. at odds: 不和，有衝突
4. specter: 恐怖的根源
5. sanction: 制裁
6. annexation: 吞併
7. summit: 高峰會
8. adhered to: 執著於，堅持
9. revolt: 叛亂，反感
10.
implementation: 實施
11. accord: 一致，符合，協調
12. de-escalation: 戰爭或危機激烈程度的減少
13. sprightly: 活潑，愉快
