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RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADAMIR Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko are both due to attend a key meeting in Minsk, Belarus, today, amid continuing tension between the two countries.
They will both attend the Russian-let Customs Union meeting where officials are set to discuss the crisis as well as trade following Ukraine’s signing of agreements with the EU in June.
The Kremlin did not rule out direct talks between the two leaders, though it would not confirm a bilateral meeting.
These talks are talking place against a background of high tensions.
An AFP journalist witnessed heavy fighting to the south of Donetsk, the main rebel bastion in eastern Ukraine, where separatists said they had deployed fresh tanks and artillery.
Explosions rang out and smoke rose from towns to the south of the city. Ukraine’s military said four soldiers had been killed and 31 wounded in the past 24 hours.
Ahead of the meeting, the US warned of “significant escalation” in the conflict after Kiev announced the capture of ten Russian paratroopers.
Her comments came after Kiev’s security service said soldiers from the 98th airborne division based in central Russia were captured near the Ukrainian village of Dzerkalne, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of the rebel hub Donetsk.
The Kremlin has ratcheted up the pressure by announcing plans to send another aid convoy into eastern Ukraine “this week”.
Russia unilaterally sent about 230 lorries carrying what it claimed was 1,800 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the rebel-held city of Lugansk on Friday after accusing Kiev of intentionally delaying the mission. Kiev condemned the move as a “direct invasion”.
Some 400,000 people have fled their homes since April in fighting that has left residents in some besieged rebel-held cities without water or power for weeks.
“We would like to agree on the conditions to send the convoy on the same route with the same participation of Ukrainian border guards and customs officers as soon as possible,” Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow.
He also played down hopes for a major breakthrough in Minsk, saying only that talks would “facilitate the exchange of opinions” about “efforts to start the political process to settle the political crisis”.
- Additional reporting by Michelle Hennessy.
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This is what gets me with Western media. It is unbelievably bias and full of propaganda. For example,
The article quotes Susan Rice(US) saying, more or less, that Russia has no right to interfere in Ukraine and should respect the integrity of the national borders. Now, this is the same US that has said it will not let national borders get in its way in its fight with an enemy if its(ISIS). This is the same US which has interfered in countless countries alone just in the past year or two from aid to Syrian ‘rebels’ (aka jihadists) to illegal drone strikes.
No where in the article does it mention the lack of credibility of the US to be lecturing other countries on respecting national boundaries or interfering in countries.
The article also states that Russian paratroopers were caught by Ukraine. This could be true but the article should side with caution given the fact that Kiev has lied continously for the past few months from its President saying it would not bombard civilian neighbourhoods to saying it had destroyed a Russian column but then saying it hadn’t.
I have one question for Kiev, which Western media including the Journal, is not asking. Where are the tapes and recordings of air traffic control with flight MH17 which Kiev confiscated and will not release. It’s needed for the investigation. Release them to the investigators. What are you trying to hide?
Horgay. The Russian Defence Ministry has admitted that those Paratoopers are their men but are claiming (and this is the hilarious part) they got lost and crossed the border by mistake.
The soldiers themselves have stated that they were only told that they were going on “combat exercises” but not told where.
And then we have the statement from the terrorists saying that they got “Fresh Tanks and Artillery”. Russia continually denies arming them so where did they come from? The Heavy Weapons Fairy?
And you claim. That Kiev is lying. Moscow has being lying through its teeth right from the very start. Remember their denials of any Russian troops on the streets of Crimea. And they have consistently lied ever since.
‘Russia says that a group of Russian military personnel who were captured in eastern Ukraine had crossed the border by mistake’ BBC News. They should get their money back from Garmin! You couldn’t make it up!
Horgay why do you support these criminals?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bv8dQPwCMAAGWK-.jpg
The sign reads “she kills our children”. I could post another photo where the woman who’s tied up is kicked by the woman on the left, but it’s too graphic for the journal.
Horgay has a point, and I’m not sure he’s defending Russia’s actions. the yanks blow up half the world, bomb everything from schools to hospitals (and the occasional British armoured personnel carrier if I remember correctly), and have the nerve to condemn the Russians? that’s like Hitler claiming Stalin was a bad person.
Hi Jesus dude, It’s called “Whataboutism”. A common fallacy used by Russian propagandists to deflect criticism of against Russia by pointing out a similar event that the West perpetrated, and without refuting the opponent’s initial argument.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
“Whataboutism is a term for the Tu quoque logical fallacy popularized by The Economist for describing the use of the fallacy by the Soviet Union in its dealings with the Western world during the Cold War. The tactic was used when criticisms were leveled at the Soviet Union, wherein the response would be “What about…” followed by the naming of an event in the Western world loosely similar to the original item of criticism.[1][2]”
“It represents a case of tu quoque or the appeal to hypocrisy, a logical fallacy which attempts to discredit the opponent’s position by asserting the opponent’s failure to act consistently in accordance with that position, without directly refuting or disproving the opponent’s initial argument.”
David dude, I think your missing the point altogether. I know what Russia is doing is despicable, and condemn their actions, I totally agree with you on that. the actual point that I think horgay was making, and that i’m making, is that the Americans have no real weight to their condemnation of the russians because they do worse, and that western media is very, very biased. The world would be a better place if both the Russians and the Americans would f**k off to Mars and leave the rest of the world alone.
I think pretty much everyone recognises the hypocricy of the yanks, and of course there is bias in western media, but unfortunately Horgay (in common with many Putinettes on here) refuses to recognise the inherent bias, lies and propaganda content of Russian state media or the almost total lack of press freedom there, instead taking everything the Kremlin spoon-feeds them with as true and accurate. Nothing could be further from the truth!
But the US is trying to stop an insurgency Russia is trying to support one.
Re Avina
I am nether pro US or pro Russian and of course there is bias in Russian media, Rt etc. I have shared this numerous times before.
I try to point out the propaganda machine that rules the Western Mainstream media, hoping to wake a few people up from their slumber. I used to believe what the media told me until 9/11 happened and only then I realised there was something inherently wrong with what all the educated, sophiscated editors and journalists and presenters were telling the masses.
The US started the original insurgency at the beginning of the year. Armed nazi thugs murdered police on the maidan. Parts of west Ukraine declared their independence from Kiev. Then Nazi thugs occupied government buildings and illegally overthrew the democratically elected president of Ukraine. Of course the same Nazi thugs were hailed as “freedom fighters” and were “spreading democracy”. However when government buildings were occupied in the East suddenly they’re terrorists and Russia must sit back and watch her Slavic kith and kin be slaughtered by nazis to American applause. There are no Americans being murdered in Ukraine but many people who identify themselves as Russians. The yanks are right now considering attacking yet another country, Syria, the clincher being that a single foolhardy US journalist managed to get himself executed there. Thousands of Russians are dead in East Ukraine; innocent men, women and children bombed into little bits. And yet a humanitarian convoy is held up for days due to the hysterical US lapdog Russophobes in Kiev not figuring out how to steal it for their rag tag army of nazis and hapless teenagers. And Washington howls in indignation when the convoy finally gets the aid out, even demanding it turn around. This US government is an absolute parody of “freedom” and “democracy”. Their constant parroting of those words remind one that a country which is free and democratic doesn’t need to announce it daily.
Give it a rest John. The Maidan protest was peaceful until Yanokovich tried to crack down on it with the Berkut.
Had he done what the majority of the population wanted and signed the treaty with the EU and ignored his masters in Moscow he would still be President. But he chose to ignore his own population and kowtow to Moscow’s demands.
Diplomacy via tweets is infantile.
Rice is a loathsome woman, and it’s some of her highly provocative actions that led to this mess. Handing out cookies to protesters some of him were fascists at Maidan was highly undiplomatic to say the least.
Putin really is a short arse, isn’t he?
Small man syndrome, like Napoleon, Bono and Tom Cruise….
Liliputin.
Russia has just attacked a Ukrainian border post and killed 4 Ukrainian soldiers. When will we all wake up to the threat that is Putin?
Kingstown
We are awake but unfortunately our brains are in paralysis as we talk and walk ourselves into a global nightmare!
I was watching Russia Today earlier on. Turned out it was the fault of the Ukrainian Nazi border guards who were dumb enough to stand underneath where the glorious peoples jets dropped their humanitarian peace offerings. It’s basically all a plot cooked up by the Nazis in Kiev to make the Russian government look like a bunch of war-causing thugs!
anyone remember that plane that got shot down and was used by the west to blame russia, that went very quite after the Ukrainian government was caught out. the propaganda is thick. this guy does a good job breaking it down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWlAARb0fN4
i would agree with another comment regarding the tweets about violating borders made by the us ambassador, criticising another country for violating the borders of another is a risky position for any us official to take.
have your say