Kerry stresses need to implement agreed plan for Ukraine crisis end

GENEVA, April 17 (KUNA) -- US Secretary of State John Kerry said that talks here on Thursday resulted in a plan for immediate de-escalation in Ukraine that needed to be implemented by all parties involved.
In a press conference, after quartet negotiations which included Russia, Kerry said that the views expressed by Russia at the talks, and its resulting agreements and commitments were merely ink on paper and needed to be tangible.
"We wanted to find concrete steps, not just words, but concrete steps that could be acted on immediate in order to defuse the situation," Kerry said, following the first meeting with the Ukraine contact group, which included European Union Foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and representatives from Ukraine.
"If there is not progress over the course of these next days, then there will be additional sanctions, additional costs as a consequence. We do not envision this as the full measure of de-escalation.
"This is just the beginning, it depends on the good faith of parties in following through. We're going to watch that very closely," Kerry added.
Among other things, the agreed upon document calls for all sides to refrain from "violence, intimidation or provocative actions." Special mention is made condemning "all expressions of extremism, racism and religious intolerance, including anti-Semitism." The document also calls for disarmament of illegal groups and return of seized buildings, adding "amnesty will be granted to protesters and to those who have left buildings and other public places and surrendered weapons, with the exception of those found guilty of capital crimes." Earlier, Russian minister Lavrov said in a separate press conference said that an agreement was reached on ways to de-escalate tension in Ukraine, most notably the evacuation of Pro-Russian groups to buildings in ten cities in eastern Ukraine.
The agreement also included weapon disarmament to all organizations located in Ukraine, including amnesty to all anti-government protesters under the agreement.
The Russian minister added the crisis must be settled by Ukrainians themselves and there must be long-term constitutional reforms. (end) ta.mb