Ukraine crisis: John Kerry rejects Vladimir Putin meeting

[Catherina]

26. +1 It's the US refusing to talk unless Russia accepts the Putschists in Kiev as a starting pt

and Russia refuses that as a starting point. What you said. So we're stuck. Some diplomacy.

March 11, 2014 in Nation/World
Russia, rejecting U.S. proposal, will offer own Ukraine crisis plan


KIEV, Ukraine – Russia said Monday it is drafting counterproposals to a U.S. plan for a negotiated solution to the Ukraine crisis, denouncing the new Western-backed government as an unacceptable “fait accompli” and claiming that Russian-leaning parts of the country have been plunged into lawlessness.

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In a televised briefing with President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said proposals made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are “not suitable” because they take “the situation created by the coup as a starting point,” referring to the ouster of Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin president, Viktor Yanukovych.

Referring to a document he received from Kerry explaining the U.S. view of the situation in Ukraine, Lavrov said: “To be frank, it raises many questions on our side.” “Everything was stated in terms of allegedly having a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and in terms of accepting the fait accompli,” he said.

Lavrov said Kerry delayed a visit to Moscow to discuss the situation, and Russia had decided to prepare new proposals of its own, though he did not say what they were.

But in Washington, State Department officials said that it was Russia’s refusal to discuss the American proposals that was hurting prospects for a negotiated solution – in particular, the idea of direct talks between Russian officials and those of the new Ukrainian government.

....

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/mar/11/russia-rejecting-us-proposal-will-offer-own/

Russia: Legitimizing Ukraine Coup No Place to Start
Moscow working on counterproposals for ending crisis as it rejects US framework that backs government characterized 'bandits' by ousted president
- Jon Queally, staff writer

...
The media framing around the Ukraine crisis has itself become a dominant part of the story, as Russia and the U.S. square off over their diametrically opposed narratives that are creating very real challenges when it comes to generating a workable settlement deal.

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Taking a hard stance against the U.S. government's frame on Tuesday, former CIA analyst Melvin A. Goodman says that the U.S. media is much too pliant when it comes to accepting the White House perspective while ignoring important historical context for the Ukraine crisis. Writing at Consortium News, Goodman explains why the U.S. position is so deeply flawed:

In the Crimean crisis, President Obama seems to be unnecessarily accommodating the right-wing criticism of his administration from politicians and pundits instead of finding a diplomatic solution to the current imbroglio. If the United States offered guarantees against the further expansion of NATO and invited Russia to take part in a multilateral economic aid program for beleaguered Ukraine, then it is possible that President Vladimir Putin would find a way to lower the Russian military presence in the Crimea.

In the meantime, the U.S. reliance on modest military steps, travel bans and economic sanctions will not bring any favorable change to the situation on the ground in Crimea. These steps will only worsen the crisis in the Ukraine and ensure that the United States and Russia cannot discuss important geopolitical matters on arms control and disarmament, nonproliferation and counter-terrorism, which finds them essentially in agreement.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/03/11-0

Deeds to property and real estate ownership on the Crimean peninsula issued by the Ukrainian government will be reissued for free, Pri