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According to a recent article, Putin has called on pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine to postpone a vote on secession just five days before it was supposed to be held. This could potentially pull Ukraine back from being dismembered. This was the first sign that Putin has given that he would refuse to endorse a referendum planned for Sunday by pro-Russian rebels seeking independence for two provinces with 6.5 million people and roughly a third of the country’s industrial output. This appears to be a major breakthrough in what many are calling the worst case of Russian/Western tension since the Cold War; Putin also announced that he was pulling troops back from the Ukrainian border. Since fighting in Ukraine began, Moscow has assembled thousands of troops along the frontier, proclaiming the right to invade Ukraine in an effort to “protect” Russian speakers.
Earlier in the year, hordes of unmarked soldiers entered Ukraine. Many people think that they were secretly operating under the Russian government.
According to Putin, postponing the secession vote would create a chance for dialogue between the Ukrainian authorities and separatists, whose demands range between greater autonomy and outright secession. He understands where the presence of so many troops on the Ukrainian border are a “concern” for the Ukrainian government, and this is why, according to him, they were relocated to where they traditionally conduct their regular training. Putin spoke in Moscow yesterday after talks with the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, who said the security and rights body was planning to propose a “road map” to defuse the drama in Ukraine. One pro-Russian separatist leader said that his faction was “considering” Putin’s call to postpone their vote at a meeting of their self-proclaimed People’s Assembly tomorrow.
If what Putin is saying is true, then it could mean a major breakthrough in Russian-western relations. It could also be a call back to Cold War politics, where the Soviet Union and NATO would be on the brink of war until one faction backed down. I have lived through the Cold War in the past, and that is in no way something that I want to relive. However, it looks like that’s what’s happening right here. I’m also interested to see if the Ukrainian separatists heed Putin’s words, and what will happen if they choose not to.
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