Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/275218
By Jim Heintz The Associated Press KIEV, UKraInE » Ukraine's foreign minister said Mon- day that his country was practically in a state of war with Russia, as Moscow fur- ther ratcheted up pressure on Kiev, claiming that Rus- sian-leaning eastern regions have plunged into lawless- ness. Russian forces have ef- fectively taken control over Ukraine's Crimean Penin- sula in what has turned into Europe's greatest geopolit- ical crisis since the end of the Cold War. On Sunday the region is to hold a refer- endum on whether to split off and become part of Russia, which the West says it will not recognize. "We have to admit that our life now is almost like ... a war," Foreign Minister An - drii Deshchytsya said before meeting his counterparts from Belgium, the Nether- lands and Luxembourg. "We have to cope with an aggres- sion that we do not under- stand." Deshchytsya said Ukraine is counting on help from the West. Prime Minister Ar - seniy Yatsenyuk is to meet w ith P resident Ba rack Obama in Washington on Wednesday. On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said law - lessness "now rules in east- ern regions of Ukraine as a result of the actions of fight- ers of the so-called 'Right Sector,' with the full conniv- ance" of Ukraine's new au- thorities. Right Sector is a grouping of several far-right and na- tionalist factions whose ac- tivists were among the most radical and confrontational of the three-monthlong dem- onstrations in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, which eventu- ally ousted President Viktor Yanukovych. The Kremlin statement also claimed Russian citi - zens trying to enter Ukraine have been turned back at the border by Ukrainian of- ficials. Pro-Russia sentiment is high in Ukraine's east and there are fears Russia could seek to incorporate that area as well. Obama has warned that the referendum in Crimea would violate international law. But on Sunday, Rus - sian President Vladimir Pu- tin made it clear that he sup- ports the vote, in phone calls with German Chancellor An- gela Merkel and British Min- ister David Cameron. "The steps taken by the legitimate leadership of Crimea are based on the norms of international law and aim to ensure the legal interests of the population of the peninsula," said Putin, according to the Kremlin. On Monday, Putin was briefed by Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, on the contents of a document Lavrov received from Secre - tary of State John Kerry ex- plaining the U.S. view of the situation in Ukraine. That document contains "a concept which does not quite agree with us because everything was stated in terms of allegedly having a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and in terms of ac - cepting the fait accompli," Lavrov said. The Kremlin contends Yanukovych was ousted by a coup. Lavrov said Kerry had been invited to come to Russia to discuss the situ - ation. "We suggested that he come today, I think, and we were prepared to receive him. He gave his preliminary consent. He then called me on Saturday and said he would like to postpone it for a while," the minister said. In Washington, the State Department said it was still waiting to hear from Mos - cow whether it would accept a U.S. proposal for negotiat- ing an end to the Ukraine crisis. The U.N. Security Coun- cil, meanwhile, met on Ukraine for the fifth time in 10 days to hear closed-door briefings from U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman and Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev. The council has been unable to take any action because Russia has veto power. crImEa Russia warns Ukraine over 'lawlessness' Moscow ratchets up the pressure on new government ahead of upcoming Crimean secessionist vote RIA-NovostI, AlexeI NIkolsky, PResIdeNtIAl PRess seRvIce — the AssocIAted PRess Russian President vladimir Putin, le, listens to Foreign Minister sergey lavrov during their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in sochi, southern Russia, on Monday. By Yuras Karmanau The Associated Press SImFErOPOL, UKraInE » The arrival of Russian troops in Crimea has opened old wounds among the Crimean Tatars, who were deported during World War II. Fear - ing that once again they will be unwelcome in their homeland, some are orga- nizing community-watch patrols to protect their fam- ilies and homes in a place they strongly feel should re- main part of Ukraine. Tensions have grown with preparations to hold a referendum on Sunday on whether Crimea should stay in Ukraine or join Russia. "It turned out that there's a sudden sense of danger," said Dilyaver Reshetov, who heads the watch group in Simferopol's Akmechet neighborhood. Rallying for Ukraine While Crimea's ethnic Russian majority may be in favor of joining Russia, Mus- lim Tatars have rallied to support the new Ukrainian leaders in Kiev. This, they fear, will make them a tar - get of rising Russian nation- alism on the Black Sea pen- insula. Shortly after pro-Rus- sia President Viktor Yan- ukovych fled Ukraine two weeks ago, about 20,000 Tatars turned out for a rally in Simferopol, the Crimean capital, in support of the new pro-Western govern - ment in Kiev. They were confronted by a smaller pro- Russia rally, and at least 20 people were injured in clashes. "Since we have been taken over, armed men have started to turn up," Reshe - tov said. "For the sake of the safety of our neighbor- hood — because nobody is going to come to protect us — there have been initiatives to gather in order for us to ensure our own safety." What started as just 40 volunteers has swelled to more than 200 in Akmechet, where residents have turned a mosque into a makeshift command center for orga - nizing volunteers. The vol- unteers, armed with flash- lights and maps, patrol the poorly lit streets and stop any suspicious vehicles try- ing to enter the neighbor- hood. "Crimean Tatars don't sleep at night because they are on watch near their vil - lages," said Seiran Ismag- ilov, 23. The leader of the Crimean Tatar community, Refat Chu- barov, said he understands why the Russians in Crimea look to Moscow, since many of their families arrived only af - ter World War II. But the solu- tion, he suggested, is for them to return to Russia if they are unhappy. "We want for them to un - derstand our love for our land and consider the fact that we do not have another homeland," Chubarov said during an interview in his of - fice. "We don't have another choice. They do." The Tatars, a Turkic eth- nic group, now make up 12 percent of the population, but they ruled Crimea from the 15th century until the Rus - sians conquered the penin- sula in the 18th century. wOrLd Crimean Tatars fear return of Russian rule dARko vojINovIc — the AssocIAted PRess crimean tatars pray during protest in front of a local government building in simferopol, crimea, Ukraine, on Feb. 26. the arrival of Russian troops in the area has opened up old wounds. By Julie Pace The Associated Press waSHInGTOn » The Obama administration is stepping up its attempts to court China's support for isolat - ing Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine. With official comments from China appearing stu - diously neutral since the Ukraine crisis began, Pres- ident Barack Obama spoke to Chinese President Xi Jin- ping late Sunday in a bid to get Beijing off the fence. The call was their first known conversation since Russian forces took con - trol of Ukraine's pro-Mos- cow Crimea region. It came amid signals that Russian President Vladimir Putin was hardening his position on Crimea, which is due to vote on joining Russia this weekend in a referendum the U.S. and its allies have vowed not to recognize. In making his case, Obama appealed to China's well-known and vehement opposition to outside inter - vention in other nations' do- mestic affairs, according to a White House statement. However, it remained unclear whether China would side with the U.S. and Europe or with Mos - cow, which has accused the West of sparking the crisis in Ukraine with inappropriate "meddling" in the internal affairs of the former Soviet republic. China is a frequent ally of Russia in the U.N. Se - curity Council, where both wield veto power. In his conversation with Xi, Obama "noted his over - riding objective of restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and en- suring the Ukrainian people are able to determine their own future without foreign interference," the White House said. It said the two leaders "agreed on the importance of upholding principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, both in the con - text of Ukraine and also for the broader functioning of the international system." They also affirmed their in - terest in finding a peaceful resolution to the dispute. In wooing China's sup- port, the U.S. is seeking to capitalize on Beijing's policy of non-intervention, which Beijing has used as a rationale for limiting its in - volvement in North Korea and elsewhere around the world. wOrLd U.S. seeks to woo China on Ukraine By michael Biesecker The Associated Press FOrT BraGG, n.c. » The s e x u a l a s s au lt c a s e against an Army general was thrown into jeopardy Monday when the judge said the military may have improperly pressed ahead with a trial to send a mes - sage about its determina- tion to curb rape and other widespread misconduct. Judge Col. James Pohl refused to dismiss the charges against Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair but of - fered the defense another chance to plea-bargain the case with a set of military officials not previously in - volved with the matter. The twist comes with the Pentagon under heavy pressure from Congress and beyond to combat rape and other sex crimes in the military. Late Mon - day, the Senate unani- mously approved a bill making big changes in the military justice system to deal with sexual assault. The judge reviewed newly disclosed emails in Sinclair's case and said he found the appearance of "unlawful command in - fluence" in Fort Bragg of- ficials' decision to reject a plea bargain with the gen- eral in January. Under the military code of justice, the decision was supposed to be decided solely on the evidence. Pohl said the emails showed the military offi - cials who rejected the plea bargain had discussed a letter from the accuser's lawyer. The letter warned that allowing the general to avoid trial would "send the wrong signal." mILITarY General's court- martial thrown into jeopardy N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 PHONE: (530) 527-2151 FAX: (530) 527-5774 545 Diamond Avenue • P.O. Box 220 • Red Bluff, CA 96080 Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. 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