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Ukraine crisis: Diplomacy gathers pace ahead of talks

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlZDls9SOxo8NbBUh06Wx2yULauyuemfJKIWSR76tJPibS-k3g-WahNP-wV2poyApgq5OiCE8KCPZbo4Di6dL_ifcCxT0OvXwahvh4W3EvTw0LgH5UwcFfLNZgXUVh8Rq0H-dbpfmEkD-/s1600/_73384013_73384012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlZDls9SOxo8NbBUh06Wx2yULauyuemfJKIWSR76tJPibS-k3g-WahNP-wV2poyApgq5OiCE8KCPZbo4Di6dL_ifcCxT0OvXwahvh4W3EvTw0LgH5UwcFfLNZgXUVh8Rq0H-dbpfmEkD-/s1600/_73384013_73384012.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">US Secretary of State John Kerry has begun talks with Russian
counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Paris to try to resolve the crisis in Ukraine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The US wants independent observers in the flashpoint region of
Crimea and direct talks between Kiev and Moscow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russia is likely to call for greater representation for Ukraine's
Russian-speaking areas in the Kiev government.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The EU earlier offered 11bn euros ($15bn; £9bn) in aid to Ukraine
and froze the assets of 18 Ukrainians.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the package
of loans and grants over the next couple of years was "designed to assist
a committed, inclusive and reforms-oriented government" in Kiev.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ukraine's finance ministry has predicted it needs $35bn to rescue
its economy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In other developments in Ukraine: </span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The
     national flag is once again flying over the administrative headquarters in
     Donetsk, replacing the Russian flag hoisted there five days ago. The
     building was evacuated after an apparent bomb threat</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In
     Crimea, pro-Russian demonstrators have turned away families bringing food
     and supplies to Ukrainian troops refusing to surrender their bases</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russian
     forces have seized two Ukrainian missile-defence sites in Crimea,
     according to unconfirmed reports</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Nato and Russia are also due to hold parallel talks in Brussels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Paris gathering is being seen above all as a chance to test the
waters for a dialogue about Ukraine, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent
Bridget Kendall.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Russians had already
failed to appear at one meeting with the Ukrainians in Paris so he was
"not optimistic" of making progress later.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"If we cannot make progress on that course there will be costs
and consequences," he said, in reference to a threat of sanctions by the
US and EU.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBU8Q0cPmiVHhFAQVB04HsfHVcYiVSDqHoIds8Zwj-2B_j7bZtkIe-9Rk3Hh5-Sj6FFKHE0VHtg8V-ksNemVVqnLPkGPL2yKJXPIvjtGeRn-qLU6uhsfTNqvsej62lA3scOQA17W6n1hK/s1600/_73378349_3d05f386-a378-48ef-ab7f-dc7463c31a56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBU8Q0cPmiVHhFAQVB04HsfHVcYiVSDqHoIds8Zwj-2B_j7bZtkIe-9Rk3Hh5-Sj6FFKHE0VHtg8V-ksNemVVqnLPkGPL2yKJXPIvjtGeRn-qLU6uhsfTNqvsej62lA3scOQA17W6n1hK/s1600/_73378349_3d05f386-a378-48ef-ab7f-dc7463c31a56.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBU8Q0cPmiVHhFAQVB04HsfHVcYiVSDqHoIds8Zwj-2B_j7bZtkIe-9Rk3Hh5-Sj6FFKHE0VHtg8V-ksNemVVqnLPkGPL2yKJXPIvjtGeRn-qLU6uhsfTNqvsej62lA3scOQA17W6n1hK/s1600/_73378349_3d05f386-a378-48ef-ab7f-dc7463c31a56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="color: black;">Troops
believed to be Russian servicemen are in control of Ukrainian military bases in
Crimea</span> </span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxxdWJXi6IR1gXdEAkU3nbS523A5qaQ6OmjhbiNEjEoa2PCLODXc97pP6i4ZZrVCIuZK0rrwfLW54LRCq-9XQcYSX85fKbdGzcAP7O2vSnWmkUSKpEnKCP0l0Dii79SIEM2nj-MCI2uqGq/s1600/_73378351_fc29d469-bae3-4efd-b29f-ba2ed21e6b90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxxdWJXi6IR1gXdEAkU3nbS523A5qaQ6OmjhbiNEjEoa2PCLODXc97pP6i4ZZrVCIuZK0rrwfLW54LRCq-9XQcYSX85fKbdGzcAP7O2vSnWmkUSKpEnKCP0l0Dii79SIEM2nj-MCI2uqGq/s1600/_73378351_fc29d469-bae3-4efd-b29f-ba2ed21e6b90.jpg" width="640" /><span style="width: 624px;"> </span></a></div>
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<span style="width: 624px;">Mourners at Kiev's Independence Square remember the 88 protesters who died in clashes with police</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fCqpBh7mkp7qZnPBB5IpMmFQA1VSxWdLuhw7Y0CkU0AHy3zLGyzExeUhqsDpBOuT-N2syjDcuE_USLRcHhI81DlgB3hNHVejUBV7f8g06jYpYYnv_xJikiGuCTsR37-095TE5ZP6vkvZ/s1600/_73383072_donetsk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fCqpBh7mkp7qZnPBB5IpMmFQA1VSxWdLuhw7Y0CkU0AHy3zLGyzExeUhqsDpBOuT-N2syjDcuE_USLRcHhI81DlgB3hNHVejUBV7f8g06jYpYYnv_xJikiGuCTsR37-095TE5ZP6vkvZ/s1600/_73383072_donetsk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="width: 624px;">Donetsk's regional government headquarters was emptied of pro-Russian activists</span>

<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Earlier, Mr Lavrov underlined Moscow's differences with Western
nations, accusing them of setting a bad example by supporting protesters - some
of whom now make up the government - in their "armed coup d'etat".</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Russian FM Sergei Lavrov accused protesters of conducting an
"armed coup-d'etat"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This agreement included constitutional reform that would fully take
into account the interests of all regions of Ukraine - giving the
Russian-speaking areas in the east more influence and greater legal protection.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This, says the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow, would give Russia
more leverage over the future direction of Ukraine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Moscow has strongly condemned the recent change of government in
Ukraine, which came after months of street protests, more than 90 deaths and
the flight of President Yanukovych, a Russian ally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Since his fall, Moscow has retained de facto control of Ukraine's
southern autonomous region of Crimea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Pro-Russian troops in unmarked uniforms began taking control of
strategic points on Saturday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Troops are surrounding Ukrainian military bases and other
installations, while two Ukrainian warships are reported to be blocked by a
Russian ship in Sevastopol's harbour.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Posted By :: Muhammad Usman</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Source::BBC</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTf8mZmLFoeP_gVFKE_rTfOaT__D1U_X_A1Th9kBgg5l9e9H6HozijXEWm4nz2O-RkIotK0mhpej2PuKA6ehe_q7gi7PkERdAsd7aCYIXYXyj6nOCoo-CtmsAZk8nmHNWMEqUpLvJ3HeJw/s1600/_73383072_donetsk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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Ukraine crisis: Diplomacy gathers pace ahead of talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry has begun talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Paris to try to resolve the crisis in U...

07:11

Putin 'not fooling anybody' over Ukraine: Obama

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlDwb73glCLBL1MiTUqbxQ72vcOar6wwDJqn3oNHks5JUVHL6W6PmajE75Uq-fyh7bzCh-NOi-s3YoT7bW_K49U1I0RwHlzqTWnnwKybW5UcmX7wjQ8HoGZvPwiHTTbhnJxkNb1dyrCbo/s1600/214253_42939485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimlDwb73glCLBL1MiTUqbxQ72vcOar6wwDJqn3oNHks5JUVHL6W6PmajE75Uq-fyh7bzCh-NOi-s3YoT7bW_K49U1I0RwHlzqTWnnwKybW5UcmX7wjQ8HoGZvPwiHTTbhnJxkNb1dyrCbo/s1600/214253_42939485.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Says the European Union and allies all believed
Russia had violated international law.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">KIEV (AFP) - US
President Barack Obama on Tuesday said Russia was not "fooling
anybody" over the crisis in Ukraine after Vladimir Putin denied Russian
forces were operating on the flashpoint Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">In a show of
support for the new interim leaders in Kiev, visiting US Secretary of State
John Kerry condemned Russia s "act of aggression" and accused
Moscow of "working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade
further".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Pro-Kremlin
forces are in de facto control of the strategic, majority-Russian Crimean
peninsula where Ukrainian troops remain blocked inside their barracks in the
most serious stand-off between the West and Russia since the end of the Cold
War.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Amid the
tensions, Russia carried out a successful test launch of an
"advanced" intercontinental ballistic missile, state news agencies
reported. The US was informed of the test earlier this week, a US defence
official said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">World financial
markets meanwhile rebounded Tuesday as traders interpreted comments by Putin
that force was "a last resort" as a sign that the situation in the
nation of 46 million people was easing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Ukraine s
interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk also announced his government had made
the first "timid" contacts with Russian leaders aimed at resolving
the crisis.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">But the
rhetoric from the United States and Russia remained tough.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Obama said the
European Union and allies like Canada and Japan all believed Russia had
violated international law by mobilising troops following the February 22
ouster of pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">"President
Putin seems to have a different set of lawyers, maybe a different set of
interpretations. But I do not think that is fooling anybody," Obama said
during a visit to a school in the US capital.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Putin, breaking
more than a week of silence with a press conference in Moscow, said his country
reserved the right to use "all available means" to protect Russians
in Ukraine. "This is a last resort," he added.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Responding to
claims by Ukraine s new authorities that thousands of Russian troops had
poured into Crimea in recent days, Putin said that only "local forces of
self-defence" were surrounding Ukrainian military bases in the region.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Asked if
Russian forces took part in operations in Crimea, he said, "No, they did
not participate", adding: "There are lots of uniforms that look
similar."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">When told of
Putin s remarks by a reporter in Kiev, Kerry responded: "He really
denied there were Russian forces in Crimea?" and shook his head,
bewildered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The top US
diplomat also laid flowers and lit a candle at the scene of memorials to the
nearly 100 people who died in clashes on Kiev s Independence Square last
month.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The square was
the focal point of three months of protests sparked by Yanukovych s
decision to reject a key EU deal in favour of closer ties with Moscow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">In a further
public boost to Ukraine s new Western-backed authorities, the US confirmed
$1 billion in loan guarantees to help shore up Ukraine s debt-laden
economy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The European
Commission also offered an aid package reportedly worth more than one billion
euros, as cash-strapped Ukraine says it needs 25 billion euros ($35 billion)
over two years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">- Warning shots
in Crimea -</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">There was no
immediate sign of calm returning to Crimea, which has housed the Russian Black
Sea Fleet since the 18th century.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">In one incident,
Russian forces fired warning shots in the air as unarmed Ukrainian soldiers
approached them at a base near Sevastopol in what appeared to be the first
shots fired since the Crimean crisis erupted.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">In Sevastopol,
a bastion of pro-Kremlin sentiment, the headquarters of the Ukrainian navy in
Crimea was surrounded by around 100 pro-Russian activists who formed a human
chain as Russian forces with automatic rifles looked on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Ukrainian
defence officials said Russian vessels were also blocking Ukrainian warships
from trying to leave the port.<br />
 </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">- West to step
up pressure? -</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">In a sign of
profound Western frustrations with Russia, Kerry warned that unless Russia acts
to reduce tensions, it will face further international action after the US
already suspended military cooperation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">"If Russia
does not choose to de-escalate... then our partners will have absolutely no
choice but to join us to continue to expand the kind of steps we have taken in
recent days in order to isolate Russia politically, diplomatically and
economically," he said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">A US official
travelling with Kerry said Russia was "likely" to face US moves to
introduce sanctions as early as this week. The EU has also threatened
"targeted measures".</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">In Paris,
French President Francois Hollande warned that Russia was "running the
risk of a dangerous escalation".</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Along with
Europe, France would "apply all necessary pressure including sanctions to
find the path of dialogue and a political issue to this crisis", he said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">But Putin
warned that any sanctions would lead to "mutual losses"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Kerry will come
face-to-face with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Paris on Wednesday,
their first encounter since the start of the Crimea turmoil.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The two are
scheduled to take part in a conference on Lebanon, with the foreign ministers
of Britain, France and Germany also attending. The events in Ukraine are
expected to overshadow the talks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Also on
Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will visit Kiev ahead of an
EU emergency summit on Ukraine on Thursday.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">But Washington
and its allies appear to have few options beyond limited punitive measures to
halt what they perceive as Putin s drive to rebuild vestiges of the Soviet
empire irrespective of the wishes of nations such as Ukraine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">- Stocks bounce
back -</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">By announcing
$1 billion in loan guarantees, the US signalled its keenness to cushion
ordinary Ukrainians from the impact of the crisis.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The move came
after Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom said it would end a
discount it gives to Ukraine on gas prices from April, instead proposing a loan
of up to $3 billion to cover its debt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Moscow is often
accused of using its gas exports as a diplomatic weapon aimed at influencing
decisions of ex-Soviet nations that contemplate closer relations with the West.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">After
Putin s comments calmed fears of an immediate war, Asian and European
markets bounced back from deep losses suffered on Monday -- London s FTSE
closed up 1.72 percent while Frankfurt s DAX was up 2.46 percent and
Paris s CAC was up 2.45 percent.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Stocks on Wall
Street shot up by more than one percent.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Russia s
stock market also clawed back almost half of the 11-percent slump it suffered
on a Black Monday of trading that also sent the ruble to historic lows.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Posted by:: Muhammad Usman</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Source: Dunya news</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>

Putin 'not fooling anybody' over Ukraine: Obama

Says the European Union and allies all believed Russia had violated international law. KIEV (AFP) - US President Barack Obam...

22:14