Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
Obama, Merkel rally support for Ukraine talks
WASHINGTON — President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel rallied behind efforts to reach a long-shot diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine Monday, but they offered no clear path for how the West would proceed if talks this week fail. During a joint White House news conference, Obama dangled the prospect that the...
EU backs Ukraine talks, weighs fresh sanctions
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union foreign ministers have thrown their weight behind fresh diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine as they assess whether to expand the EU sanctions list targeting separatists and Russian nationals. …read more Source: San Francisco...
Chemical plant in eastern Ukraine catches fire
An armed conflict between Russia-backed separatists and government forces has killed more than 5,300 people and displaced more than a million. The rebel mouthpiece Donetsk News Agency said on Monday that the chemical plant to the west of the city was hit by a Ukrainian artillery shell but the fire was put out and it posed no danger. …read...
Merkel to brief Obama on four-party talks on Ukraine crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (AHN’-geh-lah MEHR’-kuhl) are trying for a public display of unity despite a potential split over arming Ukrainian fighters to battle Russian-backed separatists more effectively. At issue is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support for the separatists...
European leaders to hold peace talks on Ukraine
BERLIN — As Russia-backed separatists gain ground in eastern Ukraine, efforts to broker peace appeared to pick up momentum Sunday, with leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine announcing plans for four-way talks this week. The proposed meeting Wednesday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk emerged from a phone call between German Chancellor...
Kerry: US, Europe not divided over Ukraine response
MUNICH (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is denying that the United States and Europe are divided over how to respond to the crisis in Ukraine and how to deal with Russia’s role in it. Speaking to an international security conference in Munich on Sunday, Kerry said the U.S. and its European allies are “united in our...
Munich security session focuses on calming Ukraine
MUNICH — Diplomats and politicians raced on Saturday to devise a strategy for halting the fierce combat and mounting civilian casualties in eastern Ukraine, with the focus on how best to get Russia to pull back its troops and heavy weaponry. The crisis in eastern Ukraine, where government forces are under siege from separatists supported and...
Opera house in Ukrainian rebel city raises spirits
Inside the city’s opera house, the strains of Peter Tchaikovsky’s tragic masterpiece Eugene Onegin briefly drowned out the boom of artillery fire Saturday. For the few dozen spectators that turn up, the opera’s weekly performances serve as a respite from the war raging outside between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian...
Putin: we don’t want war
The Russian president’s remarks on Saturday to a trade union congress in the resort city of Sochi came as officials from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany tried to develop a new initiative for ending the fighting in eastern Ukraine. The Ukraine crisis, which Moscow contends was sparked by Western manipulation, has brought punishing...
Ukraine’s conflict a complicated puzzle
After an intense two days of shuttle diplomacy to develop a new plan for ending the fighting in Ukraine, officials from Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine are trying to refine proposals to be discussed on Sunday by the countries’ leaders. A pact in September that called for a cease-fire and a pullback of heavy weapons failed to take hold,...
