International deal reached in effort to end unrest in Ukraine

(Vatican Radio) The international community is anxiously watching whether an unexpected deal between the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union will end unrest in Ukraine where armed separatists in the east want to breakaway from the country.


Yet a day after the envoys agreed to ease tensions in Ukraine, there were no signs that pro-Russian separatists in the eastern town of Slaviansk had disarmed.


They first want Ukraine to become a federal state with more autonomy for the eastern regions.

"The town of Slaviansk is surrounded, the army is everywhere," a pro-Russian protester said Friday. He warned, "We will stay here till the bitter end. People also block the roads entering the city. We demand a federal state and a referendum, so people can vote what they want."

STAND-OFF CONTINUES

The stand-off came after American President Barack Obama Obama already expressed scepticism as to whether Russia would keep its side of the bargain agreed in Geneva.

He recalled that under the deal illegal military groups in Ukraine must be dissolved and those occupying buildings must be disarmed and leave them.

“The Russians signed on to that statement," he said. "And the question now becomes, will, in fact, they use the influence that they’ve exerted in a disruptive way to restore some order so that Ukrainians can carry out an election, move forward with the decentralisation reforms that they’ve proposed.”

Moscow has denied its forces are involved in eastern Ukraine, where several people have died in recent clashes.


RUSSIAN INVASION?

Yet, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not completely ruled out military action in the area to protect Russian speakers.


And he admitted this week that his forces were involved in the recent annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. .


The NATO military alliance says Russia has still some 40,000 troops near Ukraine's borders.


NATO increased its own military presence in Eastern Europe as part of an east-west confrontation not seen since the collapse of the Soviet Union.


Listen to Stefan Bos’ report: