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Accusing the West of plotting to control Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared today that the pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine will only lay down their arms if the Ukrainian government clears out the Maidan protest camp in Kiev.
"The West wants -- and this is how it all began -- to seize control of Ukraine because of their own political ambitions, not in the interests of the Ukrainian people," Lavrov said.
He added the pro-Russia insurgents will disarm and vacate buildings "only if Kiev authorities get down to implementing the Geneva accords, clear out that shameful Maidan and liberate the buildings that have been illegally seized."
Ukraine's reaction was swift.
"The world has not yet forgotten the second World War, but Russia is already keen on starting a third world war," acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk retorted.
President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters in Seoul, said he will call key European leaders later today to discuss what's happened since a deal was reached last week in Geneva to try to de-escalate Ukraine's worst security crisis since the 1991 Soviet collapse.
The West, meanwhile, has accused Russia of fuelling the unrest in Ukraine's east and failing to use its influence on the pro-Russia insurgents.
"For seven days, Russia has refused to take a single concrete step in the right direction," US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday.
"Not a single Russian official, not one, has publicly gone on television in Ukraine and called on the separatists to support the Geneva agreement, to support the stand-down, to give up their weapons and get out of the Ukrainian buildings."
At issue is who is adhering to the Geneva deal and what is an illegal occupation. In Geneva, Russia and Ukraine agreed that all illegal groups in Ukraine should be disarmed and all illegally occupied public buildings and spaces should be vacated.
Pro-Russia militia have seized and been occupying government buildings in more than 10 cities in eastern Ukraine.
