Just a couple of items that seem interesting-The Gulf Today
DONETSK: Pro-Russian separatists need “proper guarantees” that Ukraine will honour any ceasefire agreement, a rebel leader said on Thursday, underscoring the lack of trust between the two sides after six months of conflict. Leaders of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics proposed the creation of a “security zone” split into five sections, each of which would be monitored by 40 observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe.Rebels also said they would allow a humanitarian corridor for refugees and aid as part of the proposed ceasefire “in order to stabilise the situation and stop the bloodshed
Earlier, speaking on the sidelines of a Nato summit in Wales, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said he would order a ceasefire for his forces in eastern Ukraine if envoys meeting in Minsk accept a proposed peace plan.
Will Poroshenko really order the ceasefire and ensure the peace is kept? Can he?
“There wll be no ceasefire without guarantees because in the past we had some ceasefire agreements Poroshenko didn’t honour. We need proper guarantees because not all troops on the Ukrainian side answer to Kiev,” said rebel leader Oleg Tsaryov. “There are also batallions sponsored by the oligarchs. We don’t want any ceasefire to be used by them to recruit more people and to bring in more military equipment.”Lavrov and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius both “voiced hope” a ceasefire proposed by President Vladimir Putin would help bring the sides together at talks in Minsk on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.It said Lavrov and Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier had “stressed the importance of avoiding any action that could undermine the positive trend.
A message to the US?
Poroshenko said the peace blueprint would be signed on Friday at a meeting in Minsk brokered by the pan-European security body, the OSCE.
Clearly the separatist have made gainsI suspect the map still downplays the separatist held territory. Does any one else have any other information that might be helpfulMcClatchy is reporting- NATO pledges money to help Ukraine, meets Friday on new basesSeems to me NATO doesn't want peace. Because only endless war ensures the survival of the global tyrannical army
Representatives of Kiev, Moscow and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe are scheduled to meet Friday in Minsk to discuss a potential cease-fire offered by Putin. Poroshenko said he’s cautiously optimistic about the talks.
NATO leaders were skeptical about the outcome.
Highly suggestive that NATO will undermine the ceasefire agreementNATO will discuss ISIS
Obama and Cameron vowed Thursday to confront the Islamic State, saying they “will not be cowed” by the militants who have slain two American journalists ( no journalists died) and threatened the life of a British captive. They appeared to endorse an enhanced role for NATO against the extremist group in an article for The Times of London but offered no details.NATO has not received any request from Iraq to fight the Islamic State, but any such request would be “considered seriously,” Rasmussen told reporters outside the summit.Rhodes wouldn’t say whether Obama asked for support for military strikes. “The president discussed the range of different tools it is going to take to confront ISIL/S,” he said, using the preferred U.S. government acronym for the group.
This ties right back to the previous post from today -
Syrian Rebels (NATO's mercs) Offer to Serve as Ground Troops for US airstrikes
NATO is proud of their achievements in Afghanistan?
NATO is “proud of what we achieved” in Afghanistan and ready to move onto a new mission of training and advising Afghan forces, Rasmussen said.
MH-17 report next week- No press conference?
[THE HAGUE] Dutch air crash investigators have announced that they will release a preliminary report next Tuesday into what brought down flight MH17 over east Ukraine, killing 298 passengers.
"The preliminary report will present factual information based on sources available to the Dutch Safety Board (OVV)," investigators said in a statement.
The highly-anticipated first report will be released on the OVV's website at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) but there will be "no press conference", it said.Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/09/04/238787_nato-pledges-money-to-help-ukraine.html?rh=1#storylink=cpyRead more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/09/04/238787_nato-pledges-money-to-help-ukraine.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy