Paris – Top US, Russian Diplomats Seek Thaw In Tensions

Paris – The top U.S. and Russian diplomats are hoping to find a way to begin reversing a yearlong spike in tensions stemming from Ukraine’s revolution and civil war when they meet Tuesday.

The formula for improved relations is simple — an easing of Western sanctions in exchange for an end to Russia’s destabilization of its neighbor— though getting there has been far from easy.

When Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gather in Paris, they will be following a familiar script, having conferred regularly since Ukraine’s Moscow-backed leader backed out of an economic agreement with the European Union last year and sparked the protests that would lead to his ouster. After a new government turned toward the West, Russia seized and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. In the east, it has provided support for armed pro-Russian groups despite rising U.S. and European economic sanctions.

There are some causes for optimism, however. Most Russian troops appear to have left the scene of the fiercest fighting between government forces and separatist rebels, according to Ukrainian military officials. And with economic penalties beginning to bite in Russia, President Vladimir Putin is heading to Milan, Italy, for talks with Ukraine’s president and European Union leaders later this week.

The discussions between Kerry and Lavrov are seen as a possible first step in the diplomatic process. Given what U.S. officials believe is Putin’s direct orchestration of Russia’s Ukraine policy, one possible outcome Tuesday would be an invitation for direct discussions with the Russian leader — potentially led by Kerry. Less likely would be suggestions of immediate action by Washington or its European partners to let up on sanctions, or by Russia, which has never acknowledged deploying troops to Ukraine or supporting the largely Russian-speaking eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Ukraine’s announcement of a Russian troop pullback follows a cease-fire last month between the Ukrainian government and rebels. It has been violated almost daily, although the scale of fighting has decreased substantially. Ukraine still accuses Russia of allowing mercenary fighters across the border.

Putin, for his part, has ordered some 17,600 Russian troops who were posted near the Ukrainian border to return to their permanent bases. It may be a sign of goodwill ahead of his European diplomacy, even if U.S. officials in particular have complained of repeated cat-and-mouse tactics by the Russian leader in an attempt to stave off the worst of European sanctions against Russian government officials, banks and energy companies.

On Monday, an annual meeting to foster dialogue between Russia and Germany, Europe’s largest economy, was postponed indefinitely, with organizers citing the strain in relations between Moscow and the West.