Ukraine to deploy troops to prep for possible clash

Russia calls for new constitution to create federal form of government

The Ukrainian parliament endorsed a plan on Monday to mobilize 40,000 reservists amid reports of what a senior official described as further incursions in the country.

Andriy Parubiy, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told parliament that 20,000 reservists would be deployed as part of the armed forces and the other half would serve in a newly created National Guard.

Parubiy's call came in the wake of Crimean voters' support for breaking away from Ukraine by a margin of 97 percent in Sunday's referendum.

In addition, calls are growing in southern and eastern Ukraine - including Donetsk and Kharkiv, two cities that have seen unrest and clashes between pro-Russian and rival demonstrators - for greater autonomy from Kiev authorities.

"We now have grounds to state that the measures being taken today are enough to prevent a repeat of the Crimean scenario in Ukraine's southeastern regions," Parubiy said.

A total of 275 members in the 450-seat parliament backed the measure. About 30 deputies in the chamber refused to vote.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he reserves the right to defend the rights of Russian-speaking Ukrainians in southern and eastern Ukraine following the installation of a pro-Western government in Kiev last month. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Moscow has no plans to invade these areas.

A 'major job'

Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said that Ukraine needs a new constitution creating a federal form of government.

He was quoted by ITAR-TASS as saying on Monday that a "major job must be done on a new constitution with extensive discussion given to it with due regard for a need of the federal form of government in Ukraine".

"I don't believe anything else is possible in conditions of a deep split in the world outlook and interests of different regions that are not the same," he said.

"Ukraine is a partner for us, and no temporary difficulties and circumstances must change these partnership relations between our countries and all the more nothing must make us rivals," he said.

However, the prospect of a military standoff in Crimea grew on Monday as the Ukrainian government said its military forces would not leave Crimea.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Igor Tenyukh said, "Troops that are deployed (in Crimea) will stay there."

His statement put the Kiev authorities directly at odds with those in Crimea, whose assembly speaker said there would be no role for Ukrainian armed forces there.

Volodymyr Konstantynov, Crimean assembly chief, said Ukrainian soldiers in Crimea will have the choice to side with the new state or leave the peninsula, following reports they would be disbanded.

Konstantynov earlier said that all Ukrainian military units present in Crimea would be "disbanded" as part of a nationalization of Ukrainian state property.

"The units will be disbanded. Those who want to live here? No problem. Those who want to swear allegiance we will examine," Konstantynov said after a session of the assembly that declared Crimea independent and approved an application to join the Russian Federation.

Russia called on the UN Security Council on Monday to adopt a resolution on Ukraine's military and political neutrality.

ITAR-TASS reported that Moscow had "prepared proposals and gave them to the US and European partners to make external contribution to the steps, which should be taken by Ukrainians themselves to overcome the crisis".

The ministry added that the group would "be guided by the principles under which Ukraine's state system, its sovereignty and territorial integrity are guaranteed by Russia, the European Union and the United States".

Reuters-AFP

Ukrainian special troops stand guard in front of the national parliament during a session in Kiev on Monday. Ukraine's defense minister said the country would keep its troops in Crimea, despite its planned application to join Russia after a referendum on Sunday. Sergei Supinsky / Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 03/18/2014 page11)