ウクライナ声明 親露派の武装解除が鍵になる

The Yomiuri Shimbun 7:27 pm, April 19, 2014
Disarming of pro-Russia separatists key to easing tensions in Ukraine
ウクライナ声明　親露派の武装解除が鍵になる

It remains to be seen whether the agreement reached Thursday by Ukraine and Russia will calm tensions in Ukraine. Russia must promptly implement what was agreed upon in the deal.
　緊迫するウクライナ情勢の沈静化につながるかどうか、まだ不透明である。ロシアは速やかに合意を履行すべきだ。

The agreement was contained in a joint statement released after the United States, Russia, the Ukraine interim government and the European Union wrapped up their first foreign ministerial meeting in Geneva.
　米国、ロシア、ウクライナ暫定政府、欧州連合（ＥＵ）の４者が初の外相級協議を開き、共同声明を発表した。

The accord calls for disarming all illegally armed groups in Ukraine, returning all illegally seized buildings and vacating public places such as streets and squares to their legitimate owners. The agreement took into consideration the fact that pro-Russia armed groups had occupied local government and police station buildings, among others, in eastern Ukraine.
　共同声明は、ウクライナ国内のすべての不法な武装集団の武装解除や、不法占拠した建物や公共の場所の明け渡しを求めた。東部各地で、親ロシア派武装勢力が地方政府や警察の庁舎などを占拠している事態を踏まえたものだ。

The interim government of Ukraine had tried to forcibly remove such armed groups by mobilizing its military, but the bloody turmoil only expanded as it faced difficulties in breaking the stalemate.
　ウクライナ暫定政府が、軍を動員して武装勢力の強制排除に乗り出したが難航し、流血を伴う混乱が広がっている。

That the four parties sat at a negotiating table and agreed to call for “all sides to refrain from violence, intimidation or provocative actions” is admirable.
　４者が協議のテーブルにつき、全当事者に暴力や威圧、挑発行為の自制を促すことで合意したのは、一定の評価に値しよう。

The biggest problem is how to achieve disarmament and vacate seized buildings.
　最大の課題は、武装解除や明け渡しをどう実現するかだ。

The joint statement states that a special monitoring team from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will assist Ukraine authorities with disarmament and other operations. But these operations would not be effective without the cooperation of Russia, which has backed pro-Russia groups.
　声明は、米欧露が参加する全欧安保協力機構（ＯＳＣＥ）の特別監視団が、ウクライナ当局による武装解除などを支援するとしている。だが、親露派を後押しするロシアの積極的な協力なしには効果は乏しいだろう。

Russia has denied its involvement in the movements of pro-Russia groups in Ukraine. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has admitted the involvement of Russian troops in events leading to the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. Can he say for certain that it is not also the case in eastern Ukraine?
　ロシアは親露派への関与を否定してきたが、編入したクリミア半島については、プーチン大統領が露軍の関与を認めた。東部ではそうではないと言い切れるのか。

Rev up pressure on Russia

U.S. President Barack Obama expressed skepticism, saying that nothing is certain as things stand. He said the United States and its allies are ready to impose fresh sanctions unless Moscow carries out what was agreed upon in the next few days. His statement was reasonable.
　オバマ米大統領が、共同声明の合意について、「現時点では何も確実ではない」と懸念を示し、「数日内の合意履行」がなければロシアへの追加制裁に踏み切る方針を表明したのは当然である。

The international community, particularly the United States and Europe, must ratchet up pressure on Russia to make good on its commitments.
　米欧を中心とした国際社会は、ロシアに合意の確実な履行を求め、圧力を強めねばならない。

Japan should cooperate with the international community in this regard. It was unavoidable that Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida decided to postpone his visit to Russia.
　日本も国際社会と連携する姿勢が問われている。岸田外相が訪露を延期したのもやむを得まい。

The fact that the joint statement did not refer to the withdrawal of tens of thousands of Russian troops massed near the Ukraine border is still of concern. A pullback of the troops is an important step toward easing tensions, so the matter must be discussed in the coming months.
　気がかりなのは、共同声明が、ウクライナとの国境沿いに集結する数万人規模の露軍部隊の撤収について言及しなかったことだ。撤収は緊張緩和の重要なステップだけに、今後の課題である。

It is also problematic that the joint statement provided neither long-term nor medium-term steps to resolve the turmoil in Ukraine, and it made no reference to a presidential election scheduled for May in the nation.
　中長期的な混乱収拾策を示さずに、５月予定の大統領選に触れていないのも問題といえる。

This is presumably because consideration was given to Russia’s intent not to allow the election to be held at the initiative of Ukraine’s interim government.
　暫定政府主導の選挙を認めないロシアの意向に配慮したとみられる。

Only when a new president is elected in a fair election with the participation of pro-Russia residents can a “broad national dialogue”—as described in the statement—be achieved at an early date.
だが、親露派も参加した公正な選挙で新指導者を選んでこそ、声明に記された「幅広い国民対話」を早期に実現できるはずだ。

To work toward the creation of a stable Ukrainian government while preventing the country from becoming divided, diplomatic negotiations involving Russia must be continued.
　ウクライナの分裂を防ぎ、安定政権をどう作るか、ロシアを含む外交交渉の継続が求められる。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 19, 2014)