Ukraine Liveblog Day 202: 12-Point Peace Plan for Donbass Issued by OSCE

Yuriy Lutsenko, former Interior Minister under the governments of Yuliya Timoshenko, Yuriy Yekhanurov and Victor Yanukovych, and now leader of the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko party wrote an analysis of the NATO summit on his Facebook in which he claimed that five countries had offered to give Ukraine modern weapons: United States, France, Italy, Poland, Norway.

Earlier, President Poroshenko told BBC’s “HARDtalk” that NATO members were prepared to give Ukraine precision-guided weapons, but he declined to name them.

Lutsenko’s statement was quickly picked up by Western, Russian and Ukrainian media, but within half a day, Reuters published a story containing denials from four of the countries (US, Norway, Poland, and Italy, and “no comment” from one (France):

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied that the United States had made such a pledge. The official told Reuters, “No U.S. offer of lethal assistance has been made to Ukraine.”

Asked about Lytsenko’s comments, defense ministry officials in Italy, Poland and Norway also denied plans to provide arms.

In France, an aide at the Elysee palace declined to comment.

“This news is incorrect. Italy, along with other EU and NATO countries, is preparing a package of non-lethal military aid such as bullet-proof vests and helmets for Ukraine,” an Italian defense ministry official told Reuters.

Norwegian Defense Ministry spokesman Lars Gjemble, speaking to the NTB news agency, said, “We’re participating with staff officers in two military exercises in Ukraine, but it’s not correct that we’re delivering weapons to Ukraine.”

A Polish defense ministry spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Sonta, said by email, “There (was) no agreement concerning supply of modern arms from Poland to Ukraine at the NATO summit.”

According to Dagbladet, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense said tonight they had made no such promise, as providing weapons to a country in civil war is against Norwegian law.

The independent Russian newspaper Vedomosti cited Lars Gjemble as telling ITAR-TASS (translation by The Interpreter):

“Norway has no plans to deliver weaponry or technology to Ukraine. At the present time, we are trying to establish why such information was disseminated.”

Meanwhile, in France, the issue of the delay of the sale of Mistral warships to Russia continues to draw protests on both sides of the issue:

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There’s not just the issue of jobs for people in Saint-Nazaire, there’s the question of the huge fines France will have to pay Russia for delay in fulfilling their contract — at least one billion euros, BBC reports.

TV Zvezda, the Russian Defense Ministry’s TV channel, reported on the protests of workers, and said, “Russia is building docks in Vladivostok and Sevastopol for the Mistrals.”

French President Francois Hollande said “a ceasefire and a political settlement” had to be in place before the Mistral deal could go ahead.

So, France has “no comment” about the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and is terribly squeezed on the question of the Mistrals at home and abroad and — we’ll wait to see what happens next.

The 12-point peace plan has been published by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), RIA Novosti reported.

The document is published in Russian on OSCE’s web site.

Note that the plan only has 12 points, and not 14 points as the original document had going into the Trilateral Contact Group talks by Ukraine, Russia and OSCE.

The next round of the talks will take place in 7-8 days, and will have more participants, including from the Ukrainian presidential administration. The ceasefire has not been called off despite resumed battle in Mariupol and other regions, and the POW exchange is underway with some Ukrainian prisoners already released.

Aleksandr Zakharchenko, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” said at the talks that he would seek independence for the Donbass region.

The Interpreter has provided a translation of the plan:

1. Ensure immediate bilateral ceasefire.

2. Ensure monitoring and verification by OSCE of the regimen of non-use of weapons.

3. Conduct a decentralization of authority, including through passage of a Law of Ukraine “On Provisional Procedure for Local Self-Government in Individual Districts of Donetsk and Lugansk Regions” (Law on Special Status).

4. Ensure permanently operating monitoring of the Ukrainian-Russian border and verification by OSCE with the creation of a zone of security in border regions of Ukraine and Russian Federation.

5. Immediately release all prisoners and unlawfully held persons.

6. Pass a law on the inadmissibility of prosecuting and punishing persons in connection with the events that took place in individual districts of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions of Ukraine.

7. Continue an inclusive common national dialogue.

8. Take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in the Donbass.

9. Ensure the conducting of local elections ahead of schedule in connection with the Law on Ukraine “On the Provisional Procedure for Local Self-Government in Certain Districts of Donetsk and Lugansk Regions” (Law on Special Status).

10. Withdraw unlawful armed formations, military equipment and also fighters and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine.

11. Adopt a program of economic renewal for the Donbass and restoration of the viability of the region.

12. Provide a guarantee for the personal security of the participants of the consultations.