More comments on the Ukraine question as foreign ministers arrived for an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels today:
Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak: "I am personally not in favor of sending arms because sending arms to one party inevitably pushes the other party to get more arms from other suppliers. I am very strongly in favor of a political solution. It looks like we are having a momentum, so lets give chance to the political negotiations. I hope that the meeting in Minsk [of French, German, Russian, and Ukrainian leaders on February 11] will deliver some concrete results."
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom: "This is the European way [to negotiate] -- not by answering with more arms and an escalation, but to really see if we can find other ways. Given the way the humanitarian situation looks in Ukraine right now, we should wish that it goes in the right direction and this means no more killing and no more suffering in eastern Ukraine, but rather an attempt to find a political solution. There is no military solution to this."
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond speaking as he arrived for today's EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels to discuss the Ukraine situation:
"We need to remain clear and united in our stand against Russian aggression in Ukraine. We are delighted that there are negotiations and discussions going on, but until we see Russia complying on the ground -- withdrawing troops, closing the border, stopping the flow of weapons -- we can't relieve the pressure in any way. We need to keep that pressure up until we see not just words on paper, but deeds on the ground."
"U.K. is not intending to supply lethal weaponry to Ukraine at this point in time. We understand that the U.S. is considering it -- this is a decision for each individual nation to take."
From our newsroom:
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has raised doubts about the prospects of a four-way Ukraine peace summit on February 11, saying it is not yet certain the proposed gathering in Minsk will take place.
Steinmeier said In Brussels on February 9 that there was still much work to be done on “open points” before the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany would meet.
Meanwhile, ahead of a vote on new sanctions targeting Russians and pro-Russian Ukrainians for their role in the conflict, EU foreign ministers in Brussels disagreed on whether Ukrainian government forces should be supplied with weapons.
That issue also was expected to be the focus of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s talks in Washington later on February 9 with President Barack Obama.
Germany announced the summit during the weekend after a phone conversation between Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin on February 9 said Putin would not accept ultimatums over Ukraine.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa
Business Insider says that "Russia is reportedly getting military bases in an EU state," citing Russian media:
Cyprus has offered Russia to have air and navy bases on its territory.
Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades announced that the country is ready to host Russian aviation and naval bases. The official agreement on military cooperation between the two nations is expected be signed on February 25, 2015, according to Lenta.ru.