GENEVA, Switzerland, April 17 (UPI) -- Four-party talks focused on de-escalating the crisis in Ukraine are underway in Geneva.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry joined Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton on Thursday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
A senior State Department official, speaking anonymously to provide background on Kerry's travel, explained the purpose of the meeting.
"The idea here is that it has been difficult to get real dialogue going between Russia and Ukraine. Russia has a lot to say about the situation inside Ukraine at the same time that its own behavior has been extremely destabilizing in the east, and therefore Ukraine has a lot to say about what Russia has been up to.
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"So the idea here is to try to provide a space where the U.S. and the EU can sit with Russia and Ukraine and can look, first and foremost, for ways to de-escalate the security situation which has gotten significantly more perilous over the last 10 days thanks to the separatist and destabilizing activity in the east of Ukraine and the seizure of buildings and equipment, we believe aided and abetted by Russian organization, Russian support, Russian money. ... [and] to also to address the intimidational factor of some 40,000 Russian troops sitting just on the eastern borders of Ukraine."
The foreign ministers will also discuss Ukraine's constitutional reform process, currently underway, in an effort, the officials said, "to make the case that grievances and concerns about decentralization, about minority rights, about power-sharing can be addressed constitutionally, can be addressed through democratic processes, and that violence is therefore unnecessary."
Convincing Russia that the interests of Russian citizens in Ukraine will be protected "is clearly an intersection between agenda item one, de-escalation, and constitutional reform," the official explained.
Third and fourth on the meeting agenda: the May 25 presidential elections and Ukraine's economy.
The Ukrainian foreign minister is expected to provide a briefing on election preparations and monitoring missions.
With regard to the economy, the parties plan to discuss reform efforts as well as Ukraine's economic uncertainties with Russia regarding gas debt and gas prices.
"President Putin sent a relatively threatening letter to 18 European leaders regarding Russia and Ukraine's energy relationship and the potential for that to affect gas flows to Europe," the official observed. "So there's a lot to talk about."
[State Department]
