Russia softens stand on Ukraine vote

Russia is pulling its forces away from the border to improve the atmosphere for Ukraine’s presidential elections this Sunday and to facilitate talks between Kiev and anti-government protesters in Russian-speaking eastern regions, said President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his visit to China, Mr. Putin stressed that the Russian troops were being withdrawn to create “favourable conditions for Ukraine’s presidential vote and end speculations.”

The Russian leader added that the troop pullout was also in response to “first contacts” that had been established between Kiev and the rebellious eastern regions.

The Russian Defence Ministry announced on Wednesday that troops deployed for exercises near the Ukrainian border had already dismantled equipment and were on the way to train stations and airfields for return to their permanent bases.

In another sign of Moscow’s softening rhetoric on the crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday welcomed a “Memorandum of peace and accord” passed by the Ukrainian Parliament on Tuesday.

Special status to Russian

The memorandum calls for stopping bloodshed in the east, undertaking a constitutional reform that would grant more autonomy to regions and giving a special status to the Russian language in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the Ukrainian document “the first public and distinct, though late, step toward the implementation of the April 17, 2014 Geneva Agreements and the ‘roadmap’ developed by the OSCE [Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe].”

Moscow criticised Kiev for its refusal to call off its “anti-terrorist operation” against pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine, to disarm ultranationalist radicals and to enact amnesty to anti-government protesters.

At the same time, the Russian statement described the presidential elections in Ukraine as “a step in the right direction.”

The Kremlin’s goodwill gesture towards Kiev appears to be designed to reduce the risks of further Western sanctions and prepare the ground for engaging the new leadership that would emerge in the upcoming election.

Washington on Wednesday reiterated its threat to ramp up sanctions against Russia if it “disrupts” the vote.

Favourable conditions Another, and far more important motive for the Russian overtures is to create favourable conditions for talks with the next Ukrainian President on ending the military conflict in the east.

Even though the insurgents in Donetsk and Luhansk have declared independence from Ukraine, Moscow thinks it is not too late to heal the east’s rift with Kiev and prevent Ukraine from falling apart.

“It is important [for Kiev] to normalise relations with all regions, so that people, wherever they live, feel themselves to be full-fledged citizens” Mr. Putin said on Wednesday.