Surprise deal reached on Ukraine crisis

EU, US and Russia outline steps designed to ease tensions, including an amnesty for protesters. The tentative deal temporarily puts on hold additional economic sanctions the West had prepared to impose on Russia if the talks were fruitless, AP news agency reported. Al Jazeera's Nick Spicer, reporting from Geneva, said the agreement had come as something of a surprise as the meeting had not ben expected to achieve anything concrete. That will ease pressure both on Moscow and on the European Union nations that depend on Russia for energy. "All sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation or provocative actions," a joint statement issued after the Geneva talks said. "All illegal armed groups must be disarmed; all illegally seized buildings must be returned to legitimate owners; all illegally occupied streets, squares and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be vacated," it added. It also gives amnesty to protesters who comply with the demands, except those found guilty of capital crimes. US Secretary of State John Kerry called the deal the result of a "good day's work" but emphasised that the words on paper must be followed by concrete actions and that those who had initially armed the groups were now responsible for making sure the disarmament took place. He said he had warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Moscow would soon feel the brunt of new sanctions should it not follow through on its commitments under the agreement. Lavrov, speaking to reporters after the seven-hour negotiation, also spoke about the need for disarmament of unofficial armed groups, saying weapons should only be held by legitimate groups, and that the deal included "all regions of Ukraine." Pro-Russian separatists occupying a local government building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, however, said on Thursday they would not leave until supporters of Ukraine's new government quit their camp around Kiev's main square, known as the Maidan. "The people occupying the regional headquarters here in Donetsk have said they are not willing to leave their buildings until the pro-Ukraine protesters in Kiev vacate their building in Maidan. They want to make sure it does not just lead to them losing the gains they have made," said Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Donetsk. International observers As part of the agreement, monitors with the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe will be tasked with helping Ukraine authorities and local communities comply with the requirements outlined in the agreement. It said Kiev's plans to reform its constitution and transfer more power from the central government to regional authorities must be inclusive, transparent and accountable, including through the creation of a broad national dialogue. Kerry lauded as "visionary" the level of autonomy the interim government in kiev is willing to give other regions of Ukraine, saying that it would offer a great degree of freedom of governance. Despite the moves towards de-escalating the violence in Ukraine, Kerry emphasised there was still a strong disagreement over the future of Crimea. "We are not giving up but we did not come (to Geneva) to talk about Crimea," he said of the peninsula which was annexed by Russia last month. He added that the aims of the meeting had been to move away from the spiralling violence currently dominating the situation in ukraine. "Nobody has left behind the issue of Crimea," he said. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/04/surprise-deal-reached-ukraine-crisis-201441718346462987.html