Russia's Putin welcomes Ukraine ceasefire

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Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday it was welcome that fighting had stopped in eastern Ukraine, a change in rhetoric compared to his previous accusations against Ukraine for violating a ceasefire.

Until recently Putin has repeatedly criticised Ukraine for failing to implement a peace deal agreed in February, including by continued shelling of rebel-held areas.

"It's heartening that the main thing is the cessation of shelling of the Donbass (eastern Ukraine) from the side of the armed forces as well as the so-called volunteer battalions of Ukraine," he said in the Crimean town of Chersoneus.

"I think that today this is the main achievement."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/09/12/uk-ukraine-crisis-putin-idUKKCN0RC0DF20150912

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1. Germany's Merkel sees need to cooperate with Russia on Syria

Germany and other western European powers need to work with Russia as well as the United States to solve the crisis in Syria, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday.

Merkel was speaking ahead of a meeting of the German, Russian, French and Ukrainian foreign ministers being held in Berlin on Saturday evening.

Ukraine is due to be the main topic at Saturday's meeting but the foreign ministry in Berlin has said Syria would likely also be discussed.

Russia had called on Friday for cooperation with the United States to avoid "unintended incidents", as it stages naval exercises off the coast of Syria, where U.S. officials believe Moscow is building up forces to protect long-term ally President Bashar al-Assad.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/09/12/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-germany-idUKKCN0RC0LO20150912

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5. Russia calls on world powers to arm Syrian military

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, has called on world powers to help arm the Syrian army, saying it was the most efficient force against Islamic State.

The US and Nato have raised concerns over Russia’s military buildup in Syria since they see the president, Bashar al-Assad, as the cause of the Syrian crisis, which has claimed more than 250,000 lives over four years. Moscow, meanwhile, has sought to cast arms supplies to Assad’s government as part of international efforts to combat Isis militants.

The increased Russian activity reflects Moscow’s concern that its longtime ally is on the brink of collapse, as well as hopes by the president, Vladimir Putin, that a common battle against Isis can improve Russia’s ties with the west, which have been strained over Ukraine.

Lavrov said in Moscow that Russia would continue to supply Assad with weapons and called on other countries to help the Syrian government and its ground troops.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/12/russia-calls-on-world-powers-to-arm-syrian-army

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2. Poroshenko proposal on stripping Russia of veto right at UN Security Council 'legally ignorant' – Fe

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's proposal that Russia be deprived of a veto right in the UN Security Council is legally ignorant and will have no consequences, says Russian Federation Council international affairs committee head Konstantin Kosachyov.

"This initiative certainly cannot have any continuation by definition, as it reveals the lack of understanding of how the United Nations Organization is arranged and an elementary lack of knowledge of the organization's charter," Kosachyov told Interfax on Friday.

The veto right is a universal instrument that can be used without any exceptions, he said.

"This is precisely why this veto right instrument is efficient, strong, and is among the most powerful instruments preserving the United Nations Organization's capability. The introduction of any exceptions in this law would absolutely certainly destroy not only the veto instrument but also the UN Security Council structure, in which the five permanent members bear special responsibility for the organization's activity and ultimately for the world's fate," he said.

http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/289759.html

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3. Russia Still Poses Threat to Ukraine, U.S. Official Nuland Says

Sanctions against Russia will stay in place until truce accords are fully implemented in Ukraine as “outside aggression is still a great threat to this country,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said in Kiev.

Russia and “its proxies” in Ukraine’s two easternmost regions must stick to peace accords signed in Minsk, Belarus, after all-night talks between German, French, Russian and Ukrainian leaders, Nuland told the Yalta European Strategy conference Saturday. She called on pro-Russian insurgents in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions to hold local elections next month under Ukrainian laws, monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-12/russia-still-poses-threat-to-ukraine-u-s-official-nuland-says

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4. Nuland: Sanctions against Russia to remain until Ukraine gets Crimea back

The United States is ready to impose new sanctions against Russia if the Minsk agreements on the settlement of the situation in Donbas continue to be violated, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said during the Yalta European Strategy Annual Meeting in Kyiv on Saturday, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

"The sanctions will take effect until the Minsk agreements are fully implemented. When the Minsk accords are fully implemented, including the return of the Ukrainian sovereignty over the state border, then we can start to weaken some sanctions. But if the Minsk agreements continue to be violated, it will lead to the introduction of more sanctions, and we will urge our European partners to do the same," Nuland said.

At the same time, she said that the sanctions against Crimea would remain in force as long as Ukraine did not restore its sovereignty over the peninsula.

http://www.unian.info/politics/1121727-nuland-sanctions-against-russia-to-remain-until-ukraine-gets-crimea-back.html