Putin calls for compromise in Ukraine that respects rights of Russian speakers in east
Putin calls for compromise in Ukraine that respects rights of Russian speakers in east
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly expressed support Sunday for Ukraine’s declaration of a cease-fire in its battle against pro-Russian separatists and called on both sides to negotiate a compromise.
Putin said such a compromise must guarantee the rights of the Russian-speaking residents of eastern Ukraine, who must feel like they are “an integral part” of their own country. Putin’s statement appeared to signal that he sees their future in Ukraine.
Separatists in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions have declared independence and asked to join Russia. Moscow has rebuffed their appeals, but is seen by Ukraine and the West as actively supporting the insurgency. Putin’s conciliatory words came as Russia began large-scale military exercises and after NATO accused Russia of moving troops back toward the Ukrainian border.
Putin appears determined to keep up the pressure to force the Kiev government to give the eastern industrial regions more powers and to prevent Ukraine from moving too close to the European Union or NATO. But he also wants to avoid more punishing sanctions from the U.S. and particularly from the E.U., whose leaders will meet Friday in Brussels, and therefore needs to be seen as cooperating with efforts to de-escalate the conflict.
The Kremlin initially dismissed the peace plan that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko laid out on Friday. But in a statement issued late Saturday, Putin said he welcomed the cease-fire and Poroshenko’s “intention to take other concrete steps to reach a peaceful settlement.”
Flawed system means child immigrants can legally stay in US for years without consequences
WASHINGTON — Thousands of immigrant children fleeing poverty and violence in Central America to cross alone into the United States can live in American cities, attend public schools and possibly work here for years without consequences.
The chief reasons are an overburdened, deeply flawed system of immigration courts and a 2002 law intended to protect children’s welfare, an Associated Press investigation finds.
Driving the dramatic increases in these immigrants is the recognition throughout Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador that children who make the dangerous trip can effectively remain in the U.S. for years before facing even a moderate risk of deportation.
The Obama administration estimates it will catch 90,000 children trying to illegally cross the Mexican border without their parents by the end of the current budget year in September. Last year, the government returned fewer than 2,000 children to their native countries.
The administration has asked Congress for $2 billion to spend on the issue.
Quebec police capture 3 men who escaped by helicopter from prison at Montreal residence
MONTREAL — A heavily-armed SWAT team raided an upscale Montreal condominium early Sunday to capture the three men police say made a bold escape by helicopter from a Quebec jail two weeks ago.
The men, who were facing murder and gangsterism charges before the jailbreak, were found in a posh 10th-floor condo with a stunning view of the city in a ritzy new development in Old Montreal, just steps from the historic waterfront.
Yves Denis, 35, Denis Lefebvre, 53, and Serge Pomerleau, 49, were arrested after police busted open the door to enter the residence around 1:30 a.m., Quebec provincial police said. They are due in court in Quebec City on Monday to face fresh charges, but police did not spell out what the new accusations would be.
Police did not divulge details about what led them to the condo.
By midday Sunday, police had left the scene after carrying out several containers and bags. Two maintenance workers were cleaning up the home where the men were arrested.
By wire sources