Russia urges immediate ceasefire, start of dialogue in Ukraine

Ukraine's new president ordered security officials to create a corridor for safe passage for civilians in the country's east, which has been rocked for two months by a pro-Russian insurgency.
     
In a statement Tuesday, Petro Poroshenko ordered security agencies to organize transport and relocation to help civilians leave the affected areas. Most of those displaced in east Ukraine, which the U.N. Refugee Agency estimated in May at 10,000, have not previously received aid or transport from the Kiev government.
     
Poroshenko said Saturday that he would grant amnesty to any insurgents who laid down their arms and had not been involved in bloodshed, and encouraged creation of a safe corridor for rebels to go to Russia, but he ruled out negotiations with any "gangsters and killers" among them.

For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was necessary to seek a ceasefire between government forces and separatists in Ukraine, and the start of nationwide talks on the country's future.
  
"We are convinced - and our partners share this view, as far as I understand, that regardless of various interpretations of various events that have taken place during the Ukraine crisis, today it is indispensable to focus on the unconditional and immediate ceasefire and the start of dialogue," Lavrov added.

In turn, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that Russia could help defuse the crisis in Ukraine by preventing militants and weapons from crossing into eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels are fighting government forces.
  
At a news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Sikorski said Vladimir Putin's promise to respect the results of Ukraine's presidential election was a step in the right direction and that Ukrainian membership in NATO - something that Russia opposes - was "not on the agenda".


Gas talks     

Russian natural gas producer Gazprom plans to continue gas talks with Ukraine and the European Commission in Brussels later on Tuesday after earlier talks ended without agreement, a company spokesman said.
  
Sergei Kupriyanov said the talks would most probably start at 11:00 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).
  
Gas flows from Russia have continued without interruption after a Russian deadline passed for Ukraine to pay off part of its gas debt.

Eight hours of talks between Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission ended early on Tuesday without a deal on resolving a gas pricing row, raising the risk of supply disruption.

Russia has threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine as early as Tuesday, with possible knock-on effects for EU supplies, over Ukraine's failure to pay its gas bill.

Ukraine's Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said talks, brokered by the European Commission in Brussels, had stumbled over a Russian price mechanism proposal, which would link lower prices to export duty.

"Unfortunately the Russian position regarding the price mechanism has changed," he told reporters, speaking through an interpreter.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he had proposed "a very constructive plan, which we believe all stakeholders could and should accept."

He said the plan covered how to make outstanding payments for November and December last year by June 10 and in addition for a certain amount of the debt for April and May to be paid.