A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin raised hopes in Western capitals by announcing withdrawal of forces from the border with Ukraine, the United States and NATO said they have not seen any sign of withdrawal.
“There is no evidence to date that there has been a meaningful and transparent withdrawal of Russian forces from the Ukrainian border,” said White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.
Hopes evaporated on another score as well, with Ukraine’s pro-Russian separatists turning down Putin’s appeal by announcing that they will press ahead with their May 11th referendum on independence. Putin had issued a call for postponing the referendum.
In a bid to keep up the pressure on Moscow, President Barack Obama has notified the US Congress of his plan to remove Russia from the Generalised System of Preferences programme that gives the country a $544 million break on taxes on a wide range of products.
The Russian assertion of withdrawal of troops was contested by NATO as well, with Secretary General Fogh Rasmussen saying in Warsaw on Thursday that he was still to see “any indications” of a withdrawal.
“I have to repeat that while we have noticed the Russian statements that they have started to withdraw troops, so far we haven’t seen any, any indications that they’re pulling back,” Rasmussen said in Warsaw.
Russia, however, stuck to the Putin declaration and hit back, taunting Rasmussen that he was “blind”. “For those with a blind eye we suggest to follow President Putin’s statement of May 7,” the Russian Foreign Ministry tweeted in response to a post by Rasmussen, who then retorted with the comment: “I have very good vision.”
Putin had declared on Wednesday, “We have been told that our troops by the Ukrainian border are a concern – we have withdrawn them. They are now not near the border, but at locations where they conduct regular drills at ranges.”
The United States and NATO have been demanding the withdrawal of an estimated 40,000 Russian troops massed on the border with Ukraine as part of the measures to defuse tensions.
“We would certainly welcome a meaningful and transparent withdrawal of Russian military forces from the border. That’s something that we have sought for quite some time. I will say that, to date, there’s been no evidence that such a withdrawal has taken place,” spokesman Earnest said.
US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Russia was heading down a “dangerous and irresponsible path” and the situation in Ukraine was “extremely combustible”.
As for Putin’s appeal to the pro-Russian separatists to postpone their May 11th referendum, which the latter have promptly rejected, Washington says the “bogus” referendum should not merely be put off, but cancelled altogether. “We’ve said repeatedly that this referendum is illegitimate, illegal,” said Earnest.
In justification of the decision on stripping the GSP concessions extended to Russia, National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Russia was anyway set to be eliminated from the programme from January 1, 2016 since the World Bank upgraded it to a high-income country.
“Russia’s actions regarding Ukraine, while not directly related to the president’s decision regarding Russia’s eligibility for GSP benefits, make it particularly appropriate to take this step now,” Hayden added.