Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met an array of EU leaders yesterday, but there was little sign of progress in patching up a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and resolving a dispute over natural gas supplies.
Putin held more than 2.5 hours of talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel overnight. The Kremlin said afterwards the pair were still at odds over how to resolve a crisis that has revived the specter of old Cold War rivalries.
“The two leaders continued to express serious differences in views on the source of Ukraine’s domestic conflict, as well as root causes for what is happening there today,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The West has imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea earlier this year and its support of pro-Russian separatists fighting in the east of Ukraine.
European leaders, in Milan for a EU-Asia summit, urged Russia to do more to end constant, deadly violations of a ceasefire that was agreed by Putin and Poroshenko last month in Minsk.
“It is obviously above all Russia’s task to make clear that the Minsk plan is adhered to,” Merkel said on Thursday.
Europe fears Russia’s decision to cut gas supplies to Ukraine because of unpaid bills could threaten disruptions in the gas flow to the rest of the continent this winter and is working hard to broker a deal.
Russia is Europe’s biggest gas supplier, meeting about a third of demand, and the EU gets about half of the Russian gas it uses via Ukraine.
Kiev and its Western backers accuse Moscow of aiding a pro-Russian separatist revolt in eastern Ukraine by providing troops and arms. Russia denies the charges, but says it has a right to defend the interests of the region’s Russian-speaking majority.
Taking the lead in the Milan diplomacy, Merkel saw Poroshenko on Thursday evening.
“The meeting went very well and we have seen a great demonstration of support for Ukraine,” Poroshenko said afterwards.
The German leader then met Putin until well after midnight. Speaking off the record, a German official said the pair had discussed implementation of the Minsk accord, with Merkel telling Putin that Russia had to meet its commitments to enable a de-escalation.
Italian radio said that afterwards, Putin attended a party thrown by his friend former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. He did not leave until after 3am, but looked sprightly as he arrived for yesterday’s talks at 8am.
Putin warned on Thursday that Russia would reduce gas supplies to Europe if Ukraine steals from the transit pipeline to cover its own needs, although he added that he was “hopeful” it would not come to that.
“I can reassure you that there will be no crisis that could be blamed on Russian participants in energy cooperation,” Putin told reporters during a visit to Serbia.
However, he said, “there are big transit risks.”
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