US offers Ukraine non-lethal military aid but urges Kiev to act responsibly

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, (left) meets the Ukrainian foreign minister, Andriy Deshchytsya, in Geneva. hotogra!h" ool#$e%

Julian Borger in Geneva Th&rsday '( A!ril )*'+ The US has !romised Ukraine non,lethal military aid -&t &rged Kiev to act in a .meas&red and res!onsi-le /ay. in res!onding to &nrest in the east. The American offer came -efore Th&rsday0s talks over the fate of eastern Ukraine and as lo/ morale among the co&ntry0s soldiers -ecame evident in confrontations /ith !ro,1osco/ se!aratists. 2egotiations -et/een $&ssia, Ukraine, the 3U and US -egan in Geneva amid lo/ e%!ectations and -attling narratives over /hat is going on the gro&nd, /here at least one se!aratists /as killed d&ring a re!orted attem!t to storm a Ukrainian -ase in the so&th,eastern to/n of 1ari&!ol. Asked if he /as e%!ecting any !rogress, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, sim!ly shr&gged. 4e held se!arate meetings on Th&rsday morning at the 5ntercontinental 4otel /ith the 3U foreign !olicy chief, 6atherine Ashton, the Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Deshchytisa, and his $&ssian co&nter!art, Sergei 7avrov, -efore all fo&r -egan a !lenary session. Deshchytisa said he had come /ith .o!timism and good/ill. -&t 7avrov did not hold a se!arate meeting /ith him. The -allroom set aside for the closing !ress conference has -een decked o&t /ith the US stars and stri!es -&t no other flags. Asked if 7avrov /o&ld also -e s!eaking there, a US di!lomat said" .All 5 kno/ is /e hired this hall. 5f he /ants to come, he can hire it from the hotel after /e0re finished..

S!eaking in a televised call,in, the $&ssian !resident, 8ladimir &tinm, said" .5 think the start of today0s talks is very im!ortant, as it0s very im!ortant no/ to think together a-o&t ho/ to overcome this sit&ation and offer a real dialog&e to the !eo!le.. The 9hite 4o&se !ress secretary, Jay 6arney, noted that the Geneva meeting /as the first time for the fo&r foreign ministers, kno/n as the .contact gro&!., have met since the crisis er&!ted in :e-r&ary. .9e e%!ect the conversation to foc&s on the need to de,escalate, the need for $&ssia to demo-ilise its troo! !resence on the -order /ith Ukraine, the need for armed se!aratist gro&!s /ithin Ukraine to dis-and and disarm, and for the Ukrainian government to disc&ss the meas&res it intends to take /hen it comes to constit&tional reform and decentralisation,. 6arney said. 4e said the US /as considering re;&ests from Kiev for s&!!ort for the army, -&t stressed it /o&ld not -e lethal aid in the form of arms or amm&nition. ress re!orts have s&ggested it /o&ld incl&de items like &niforms, -&t sto! short of -ody armo&r. The offer came after an Ukrainian effort to reassert control in the eastern to/n of Kramatorsk on 9ednesday ended in fiasco. 6onfronted -y angry local residents, the soldiers looked &ncertain of /hat to do. They ended &! handing their armo&red cars to the se!aratists, /ho !araded them as tro!hies &nder $&ssian flags in the near-y city of Slavyansk. <riefing =o&rnalists on Air :orce >ne, 6arney &rged restraint on Kiev, saying" .5t is certainly a!!ro!riate for Ukraine to take action to restore la/ and order, -&t /e -elieve that they sho&ld contin&e to do so in a meas&red and res!onsi-le /ay.. 5n his remarks &tin denied there /ere any $&ssian forces in eastern Ukraine. .5t0s all nonsense, there are no s!ecial &nits, s!ecial forces or instr&ctors there,. the $&ssian leader said. <&t he did admit that $&ssian soldiers had -een in 6rimea -efore it /as anne%ed -y 1osco/. At the time he had insisted the soldiers in &nmarked &niforms /ho s/e!t across the !enins&la had -een self,defence gro&!s /ho may have got their green fatig&es from local stores. >n Th&rsday he said $&ssian soldiers had -een in 6rimea to !rotect the local !o!&lation and !rovide sec&rity for referend&m, /hich !rod&ced an over/helming vote for secession and =oining $&ssia. 6arney did not allege that $&ssian troo!s /ere in eastern Ukraine -&t insisted the se!aratists /ere receiving $&ssian s&!!ort. 4e said" .These gro&!s have clearly co,ordinated their actions and received s&!!ort from the o&tside. And in many cases they don0t have the s&!!ort in any visi-le /ay of the !o!&lations in the cities or regions /here they are occ&!ying -&ildings.. The US and 3U are enco&raging Deshchytsia to em!hasise Kiev0s readiness to !rovide reass&rances and increased a&tonomy to the eastern !rovinces /here there are large $&ssian, s!eaking !o!&lations. <&t Kiev ref&ses to acce!t the sort of federalism -eing !romoted -y

1osco/, /hich it sees as a cover for !artition and the -reak,&! of the co&ntry