Ukraine Rebel Leader Meets Russian Senators Amid Unrest
A leader of Ukraines separatists met with senators in Moscow, solidifying ties with Russia after holding elections that were condemned by the U.S. and Europe.
Andrei Purgin, deputy premier of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic, attended a meeting today on eastern Ukraine in the Federation Council, Russias upper house of parliament, where he advocated using rubles for some transactions. Meanwhile, Ukraine accused Russia of stepping up efforts to reinforce rebels with arms and supplies.
Purgins visit to Russia risks further undermining a Sept. 5 truce that both sides accuse each other of violating daily. The government in Kiev said rebel elections last week contravene the cease-fire pact, a position thats shared by the U.S. and the European Union. Russia has said it respects the ballots. President Vladimir Putin denies meddling in Ukraine.
Purgin isnt the first separatist representative to travel to Moscow, but his visit comes in the context of escalating violence, Otilia Dhand, an analyst at Teneo Intelligence in London, said today by e-mail. Purgins visit points to what will probably follow afterwards: the consolidation of separatist territorial control with Moscows support.
The violence has contributed to making the ruble the worlds worst-performing currency against the dollar over the past three months with a 20 percent plunge. It strengthened 2.7 percent this morning in Moscow, advancing for a second session, even as the central bank said Russias economy probably wont grow next year as U.S. and EU sanctions bite.
Ukraines hryvnia weakened 2.2 percent to 14.52 per dollar in Kiev. Local lenders agreed with the central bank not to allow the currency to slip beyond 15-16, the Interfax news service reported, citing an unidentified person who attended a meeting today between the two parties.
Purgin told the Russian senators that the rebels may set up a dual ruble-hryvnia currency zone following the Nov. 2 elections. He said high turnout at the ballots is a sign people trust the current authorities.
He was joined in Moscow by Alexei Karyakin, chairman of the self-proclaimed Luhansk Peoples Republics Supreme Council. The Luhansk rebels will establish a fully functioning state before deciding whether to seek to join Russia, Karyakin said.
Russia is giving additional legitimacy to the breakaway regions even though it doesnt officially recognize them, Evgeniy Minchenko, head of the International Institute of Political Expertise in Moscow, said by phone. The Kremlin isnt ready to officially accept the republics yet and maintains Ukraine should remain united, at least formally.
In eastern Ukraine, the conflict is threatening to return to the same open warfare that broke out after the February ouster of Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovych and Putins annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine a month later.
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Ukraine Rebel Leader Meets Russian Senators Amid Unrest