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4? Friday, June 27, 2014 N E W S The Moscow Times Merkel and Putin Talk Of Ukraine Resolution REUTERS German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to President Vladimir Putin for the second time in as many days on Thursday to discuss how to help resolve the crisis in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin said. The call took place “at the initiative of the German side” and touched on questions of “monitoring observance of the ceasefire between the sides in conflict, the necessity of extending the truce, the establishment of regular work by the contact group and the freeing of people being forcibly detained,” the Kremlin said. A German government spokesman confirmed that the call had taken place, with the aim of finding a way to prolong the Ukrainian government’s ceasefire, due to expire on Friday. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has suggested that he expected a repeat of a fourway call on Wednesday in which he and French President Francois Hollande joined Merkel and Putin. Western powers have been pressing Putin to rein in the wellequipped but often disunited Russianspeaking militant groups who have taken up arms against the Kiev government, and have threatened to impose more sanctions if he fails to do so. Putin strenuously denies equipping or abetting the rebels, but has made clear that he sees himself as the defender of the Russianspeaking minority in the industrial east, many of whom say they have been alienated by a wave of Ukrainian nationalism since Moscowbacked President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled in February. Putin also drew Merkel’s attention to the worsening humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine, where some areas have no power or water, and to the flow of refugees to Russian territory — 40,000 of whom Russia says have been placed into dedicated shelters. Some of the main rebel groups vowed on Monday to hold their fire until Friday morning, in a meeting attended by former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma as well as representatives of Russia and the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Ukrainian separatist rebels have agreed to take part in further peace talks on Friday to end the conflict, Interfax reported Thursday. “There is an agreement to hold a round of consultations on June 27 in Donetsk,” Andrei Purgin, a senior figure in the leadership of the selfproclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said, Interfax reported. Earlier, speaking in Strasbourg, France, Poroshenko said he had just heard of the rebels’ readiness to meet again with the socalled “contact group” which includes former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Moscow’s envoy to Kiev and a highranking official from the OSCE security and rights watchdog. But Ukrainian media quoted him as hinting heavily that there would be no extension of a government ceasefire, which officially ends Friday night, unless Kiev was satisfied with the results of Friday’s talks. “It [Friday] is a very important day: if our conditions for the peace plan are not accepted, then we will make a very important decision,” he was quoted as saying by news outlet Ukrainska Pravda. MAXIM ZMEYEV / REUTERS A woman placing flowers near the coffin during a funeral ceremony prior to the burial of sound engineer Anton Voloshin in Moscow on Thursday. Voloshin was killed during shelling in Luhansk, east Ukraine, earlier this month. Ukraine Asks Russia to Support Peace THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday called on Russia to support his peace plan “with deeds, not words” as a weeklong ceasefire between government troops and proRussian rebels is set to expire late Friday. More than 300 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine in the past weeks as proRussian insurgents fought with government forces. Ukraine last Friday announced a unilateral ceasefire with the rebels. Some rebel groups said they would observe the ceasefire as well. Even so, 18 government troops have been killed this week, Poroshenko said. Speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Thursday, Poroshenko called for Moscow to support his peace plan with deeds and, specifically, prevent armed separatists from crossing the Russian border into Ukraine. “Without that, we cannot talk about peace,” Poroshenko said. “Do support the peace plan with deeds, not words, because with these deeds we will stop the killing of civilians and the military who defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.” President Vladimir Putin has said he supports the plan. This week he won agreement from the upper chamber of the parliament to cancel authorization for the use of force in Ukraine. Poroshenko also announced that representatives of the mutinous regions have agreed to sit down to talks with the Russian ambassador, a former Ukrainian president representing Poroshenko, and an OSCE envoy. The first round of these talks was held on Monday, bringing rebel leaders to the negotiating table for the first time. [See story, left.] VINCENT KESSLER / REUTERS Ukraine’s Poroshenko addressing the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg Thursday. Justice Ministry Wants HomeBirth Ban THE MOSCOW TIMES In a bid to crack down on fraudulent maternal benefits claims, the Justice Ministry wants to stamp out home births by refusing to register babies born outside of hospitals. The new proposal to ban the registration of homebirth babies, is meant to “stimulate women to use medical services during and after birth and become a barrier to the misuse” of government handouts, the ministry said in a statement on its website. The authors of the bill noted there had been a sharp increase in cases in which “nonexistent children” were illegally registered on the basis of a fake birth certificate so that the supposed mothers could claim maternal funding. In 2012 alone, more than 40 birth certificates submitted by members of Russia’s Roma population were discovered to be fraudulent, the ministry said. The new legislation, which would require amending the federal Family Code if passed, would severely restrict the current practice of allowing women who give birth at home to register their newborns on the basis of witness testimony. THE MOSCOW TIMES Police in Yevpatoria, a resort town in western Crimea, are investigating the killing of a foreign tourist who may have died at the hands of homophobes. Local news agency KrymInform cited the press service of the Crimean police as saying “the deceased was a foreigner of nontraditional sexual orientation who for the past five years had been visiting Crimea regularly for vacations.” Tsarist Sub Found in Baltic Sea? THE MOSCOW TIMES Estonian divers have discovered a watercraft in the Baltic Sea that they believe to be one of Russia’s first battle submarines, Estonian media reported. The Shark, which was first launched in 1911, disappeared in 1915 at the height of World War I. It was carrying a crew of 35 at the time, whose fate has since remained unknown. A vessel matching the Shark’s description has been found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea by divers from the company Technical Diving Estonia, Delfi.ee reported. The submarine’s nose was torn by a blast, probably from a mine, the website said Wednesday, citing company representatives. The divers were not immediately able to enter the submarine because of its diminutive size, the report said. Sailors had to be shorter than 160 centimeters in order to qualify for a position aboard the Shark. The submarine is unlikely to survive an attempt to bring it to the surface, but divers will mount a closer examination to confirm it is indeed the Shark. The Russian Navy has been using submarines since the late 19th century, but initially only used them for coastal defense. The dieselelectric Shark broke the paradigm, having been the first Russian submarine to pull off a torpedo attack against an enemy ship. Kerry: Rebels Must Disarm ‘In Hours’ REUTERS U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, after meeting with France’s foreign minister, said Thursday that Russia should call on separatists in Ukraine to disarm within “the next hours.” “We are in full agreement that it is critical for Russia to show in the next hours, literally, that they are moving to help disarm the separatists, to encourage them to disarm, to call on them to lay down their weapons and to begin to become part of a legitimate process,” Kerry told reporters in Paris. He noted that EU leaders would discuss possible sanctions moves on Russia at their summit starting Thursday. The State Department later made clear that Kerry’s statement was not meant to reference sanctions timing. “The secretary wasn’t outlining specific timing for additional sanctions but underscoring the need that this needs to happen quickly,” spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters in a briefing. Crimea Sees ‘AntiGay’ Murder Police did not specify the victim’s nationality. “There are signs of a violent death,” the press service said Tuesday, when the body was discovered. “Most likely, the reason for the killing was his nontraditional activities.” Human rights activists say Russia’s gay propaganda law, which bans the promotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors, has given homophobes carte blanche to target gays and has increased the risk of homophobic attacks.

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