Segei Lavrov. Geneva, 2009. [UN Photo/Flickr]
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov blamed the USA and some of their closest political friends in the EU and Ukraine for sowing discord between Ukraine and Russia and driving “a deep and wide wedge between Russia and Europe”.
In a move seen as an appeasement gesture to Russia, the European Commission decided on 12 September to delay the entering into force of its Association Agreement with Ukraine until the end of 2015. But apparently the Ukrainian leadership remains divided on its tactics vis-à-vis Russia.
Ukraine's defence minister Valery Heletey said yesterday (14 September) that individual NATO countries were delivering weapons to his country to equip it to fight pro-Russian separatists and "stop" Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Heletey told a news conference he had discussed weapons deliveries in bilateral meetings with NATO defence ministers during a NATO summit in Wales on 4-5 September.
At the 4-5 September NATO summit in Wales officials from the alliance have said it will not send "lethal assistance" to non-member Ukraine but member states may do so.
Earlier this month, a senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv had agreed on the provision of weapons and military advisers from several members of the US-led alliance. Four of the five countries named, including the United States, denied this.
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