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Following yesterday's summary of the utter farce that the Minsk Summit/Ukraine "peace" deal talks have become, the various parties involved appear to be fracturing even faster today. The headlines are coming thick and fast but most prescient appears to be: Despite John Kerry's denial of any split between Germany and US over arms deliveries to Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Steinmeier slammed Washington's strategy for being "not just risky but counterproductive."

But perhaps most significantly is France's continued apparent pivot towards Russia... Following Francois Hollande's calls for greater autonomy for Eastern Ukraine, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has come out in apparent support of Russia (and specifically against the US), "we are part of a common civilization with Russia,” adding, "the interests of the Americans with the Russians are not the interests of Europe and Russia."

Even NATO appears to have given up hope of peace as Stoltenberg's statements show little optimism and the decision by Cyprus to allow Russia to use its soil for military facilities suggests all is not at all well in the European 'union'.

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German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier doubled down on Germany's rejection of weapons deliveries to Ukraine in a speech here Sunday...

*GABRIEL SAYS GERMAN SPD WOULD NEVER BACK ARMS TO UKRAINE

*EUROPE SEES U.S. ARMS DELIVERIES TO UKRAINE AS BAD IDEA: LAVROV
"I see this, to say it openly, as not just for risky but for counter-productive," Mr. Steinmeier said at the Munich Security Conference. Mr. Steinmeier also hit back at open criticism of Germany's position on weapons deliveries from U.S. Senators and others here on Saturday. The White House is mulling delivering weapons to Ukraine to support the country's fight against pro-Russia separatists in the country's east.

"Perhaps we are so insistent because we know the region a bit," Mr. Steinmeier said.

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But John Kerry says, everything's fine... as he denies any split between U.S. and Europe on Russia policy...

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Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday denied any divisions between the U.S. and Europe over how to handle Russia, as Germany announced another high-level summit aimed at stemming the crisis in Ukraine.

Kerry told a security conference in Munich that he wanted to "assure everybody there is no division, there is no split" between Washington and its European allies amid the crisis in Ukraine.

"We are united, we are working closely together," he told the conference following meetings with his French and German counterparts. "We all agree that this challenge will not end through military force. We are united in our diplomacy."

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But perhaps most significantly is France's continued apparent pivot towards Russia... Following Francois Hollande's calls for greater autonomy for Eastern Ukraine, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has come out in apparent support of Russia (and specifically against the US).

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“We are part of a common civilization with Russia,” said Sarkozy, speaking on Saturday at the congress of the Union for a Popular Movement Party (UMP), which the former president heads.

“The interests of the Americans with the Russians are not the interests of Europe and Russia,” he said adding that “we do not want the revival of a Cold War between Europe and Russia.”

“Crimea has chosen Russia, and we cannot blame it [for doing so],” he said pointing out that “we must find the means to create a peacekeeping force to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine.”

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And then Cyprus joins the fracture party, offering to sign a military cooperation agreement on Feb 25th offering Russia the use of military facilities on its soil...

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The air force base at which Russian planes will use is about 40 kilometers from Britain's sovereign Air Force base at Akrotiri, on the south shores of Cyprus, which provides support to NATO operations in the Middle and Near East regions

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Even NATO appears to know the "peace deal" is not coming...

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STOLTENBERG: 'IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY' IF MINSK PRODUCES CEASE-FIRE

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But there is still hope.. as Germany's Vice-Chanceller hopes...

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*GERMANY'S GABRIEL `CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC' ABOUT MINSK SUMMIT

demands... *PUTIN MUST TAKE EU'S `OUTSTRETCHED HAND,' GABRIEL SAYS

But adds...*EU SEEKS POST-CRISIS PARTNERSHIP RENEWAL WITH RUSSIA: GABRIEL

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We will know soon...

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*RUSSIA SAYS FEB. 9-10 UKRAINE MEETINGS TO PREPARE MINSK SUMMIT

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At this point, it becomes clear that there is something wrong with the report, which is a faithful translation of the Ruposters original.

Andrii Olefirov is, as these recent Ukrainian government statements indicate, the Ukrainian ambassador to Finland, not the deputy foreign minister.

He was, however the deputy foreign minister earlier, before he was assigned his ambassadorial post in October last year.

Two reports, one from RIA Novosti’s German-language service (now rebranded as Sputnik) and another, in Russian, from TASS, appear to show the true story.

Both these reports bear a close resemblance to the paragraphs quoted above, but they date from February 4, 2014, when Olefirov was indeed the deputy foreign minister, in the government of Viktor Yanukovych.

What Steinmeier is referring to here then, is the possibility of sanctions against the Yanukovych regime, which was, at that time, brutally cracking down on the EuroMaidan protests.

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This piece appears therefore to be a carefully constructed assembly of part-truths and inventions designed to mislead readers. The entire article falls apart under the most basic scrutiny...

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08 March 2015, 16:08 CET
— filed under: Commission, Defence

(BERLIN) - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Sunday called for the creation of an EU army in the wake of rising tensions with Russia.

Juncker said the force could help counter new threats beyond the bloc's borders and defend European "values", in an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

"You would not create a European army to use it immediately," he was quoted as saying.

"But a common army among the Europeans would convey to Russia that we are serious about defending the values of the European Union."

He said a joint EU force would also lead to more efficient spending on military equipment and drive further integration of the bloc's 28 member states.

"Such an army would help us design a common foreign and security policy," the former Luxembourg prime minister said, but added that the force should not challenge NATO's defence role.

"Europe's image has suffered dramatically and also in terms of foreign policy, we don't seem to be taken entirely seriously."

The proposal is likely to rile opponents of deeper EU integration such as Britain but won some support from Germany.

Welt am Sonntag quoted the head of the German parliament's foreign policy committee, Norbert Roettgen, as saying that an EU army "is a European vision whose time has come".

Germany's Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that "our future as Europeans will one day be a European army" although she added "not in the short term".

She said such a move would "strengthen Europe's security" and "strengthen a European pillar in the transatlantic alliance".

The newspaper said that former NATO secretary general Javier Solana would present a report on Monday in Brussels entitled "More Union in European Defence" calling for a new European security strategy including military capability to intervene beyond EU borders.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
NOTE TO SELF: THE HEAD OF THE EU COMMISSION PROPOSES A EUROPEAN ARMY THAT IS NOT NATO


Commission chief Juncker calls for EU army

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08 March 2015, 16:08 CET
— filed under: Commission, Defence

(BERLIN) - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Sunday called for the creation of an EU army in the wake of rising tensions with Russia.

Juncker said the force could help counter new threats beyond the bloc's borders and defend European "values", in an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

"You would not create a European army to use it immediately," he was quoted as saying.

"But a common army among the Europeans would convey to Russia that we are serious about defending the values of the European Union."

He said a joint EU force would also lead to more efficient spending on military equipment and drive further integration of the bloc's 28 member states.

"Such an army would help us design a common foreign and security policy," the former Luxembourg prime minister said, but added that the force should not challenge NATO's defence role.

"Europe's image has suffered dramatically and also in terms of foreign policy, we don't seem to be taken entirely seriously."

The proposal is likely to rile opponents of deeper EU integration such as Britain but won some support from Germany.

Welt am Sonntag quoted the head of the German parliament's foreign policy committee, Norbert Roettgen, as saying that an EU army "is a European vision whose time has come".

Germany's Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement that "our future as Europeans will one day be a European army" although she added "not in the short term".

She said such a move would "strengthen Europe's security" and "strengthen a European pillar in the transatlantic alliance".

The newspaper said that former NATO secretary general Javier Solana would present a report on Monday in Brussels entitled "More Union in European Defence" calling for a new European security strategy including military capability to intervene beyond EU borders.

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http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/military-ukraine.104r

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