Putin: Ukraine Must Withdraw, Rebels Must Halt
TIME World Russia's president Vladimir Putin looks on during a meeting with representatives of the area's farmers in Blagoveschchensk, Russia on Sept. 3, 2014. Nikolsky AlexeiItar-Tass/Corbis
(KIEV, Ukraine) Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Russian-backed insurgents in eastern Ukraine to stop advancing Wednesday and urged the Ukrainian army to withdraw their troops from the region.
A day ahead of a NATO summit, Ukraine issued a vague statement about agreeing with Putin on cease-fire steps for eastern Ukraine. The separatists rejected the move, saying no cease-fire was possible without Ukraine withdrawing its forces, while Putins spokesman claimed that Moscow was not in a position to agree to a cease-fire because it is not party to the conflict.
The back-and-forth came as President Barack Obama arrived in Estonia in a show of solidarity with NATO allies who fear they could be the next target of Russias aggression. NATO is holding a summit in Wales on Thursday, with plans to approve a rapid-response team to counter the Russian threat.
Putin, speaking on a trip to the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that Kiev must withdraw its troops and stop its artillery strikes.
The warring parties should immediately coordinate and do the following things together, Putin said. The first thing is for the armed forces and insurgents of the south-east of Ukraine to stop active advancing in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Second is for the Ukrainian military to withdraw their troops at a safe distance that will make artillery and other strikes on populated areas impossible, he added.
Putin said he expected the final agreements between Kiev and the rebels to be reached at peace talks in Minsk, Belarus, on Friday.
Stock markets jumped on first reports of a possible cease-fire deal, but later eased back slightly. By early afternoon in Europe, Russias MICEX benchmark was up 2.7 percent, while the ruble rose 1.4 percent against the U.S. dollar.
Germanys DAX index, which has been particularly sensitive to news regarding the Ukrainian crisis because of the countrys economic ties with Russia, was up 1.2 percent.
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Putin: Ukraine Must Withdraw, Rebels Must Halt