OSCE warns of escalation in eastern Ukraine fighting

Published November 12, 2014
Beijing: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama hold talks before the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit on Tuesday.—AP
Beijing: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama hold talks before the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit on Tuesday.—AP

KIEV: International observers issued a stark warning over escalating violence in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday as Dutch investigators hoping to recover debris from a doomed airliner left the MH17 crash site with little progress.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said there was a “rising” risk that unrest in the war-torn region would get worse amid fears of a return to an all-out conflict.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place in the east of the former Soviet republic since September but has been regularly shaken by localised outbreaks of fighting.

“The level of violence in eastern Ukraine and the risk of further escalation remain high and are rising,” Michael Bociurkiw of the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine told a news conference in Kiev.

“More than two months after the signing of the Minsk protocol memorandum, the firing has not ceased,” he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, OSCE observers reported seeing a convoy of 43 unmarked military trucks — five towing Howitzer heavy artillery pieces and another five multi-launch rocket systems — travelling into the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.

It was the latest in a string of recent reports of unmarked trucks and heavy weapons in rebel-controlled areas. Ukraine and Western countries believe they are Russian military materiel.

In a further indication of escalating violence, Ukraine’s military reported that five of its soldiers had been killed and nine injured, taking the overall number of government troops who have died in the seven-month conflict to 1,052.

The fighting in Ukraine — which has claimed more than 4,000 lives in total since April, according toUN figures — has plunged relations between Russia and the West to their lowest since the Cold War.

Several big cities in eastern Ukraine are controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

While Western powers have repeatedly voiced concern at Ukrainian claims that Russia is supporting them, Moscow denies any involvement.Meanwhile, Dutch investigators hoping to start removing the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which crashed in July killing 298 people, are trying to negotiate access to the site with rebels.

A team of experts went to the crash zone Tuesday and recovered some human remains and two sets of identity papers, which will be returned to the Netherlands at a later date.

But due to the fragile security situation, it is impossible to know when any more work can be carried out, a statement from the Dutch security and justice ministry added.

“As soon as the mission gets the green light and the security conditions allow, we can get to work. Everything is in place to start,” the head of the mission, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, said.

Rebels quoted on Russian news agencies said the team had abandoned efforts to collect debris as negotiations stumbled over a protocol for the project.

Ukraine, supported by Western nations, accuses Russia of supplying the pro-Kremlin separatists with the missile that shot down the plane, while Moscow and the rebels have pointed the finger of blame at Kiev’s forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing renewed Western diplomatic pressure over the issue during a week of high-level international talks.

Putin discussed Ukraine with US President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing.

Earlier on Tuesday, US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters: “We continue to be deeply troubled by Russian activities. If they continue... it’s a recipe for isolation.” During their meeting, Abbott pointed out to Putin that the United States, after it downed an Iranian passenger jet over the Gulf in 1988, had expressed its regrets “and made appropriate restitution”.

“He commended the precedent to President Putin,” a statement from Abbott’s office said.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2014

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