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KIEV U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday Russia must make the first move to bring peace to eastern Ukraine, during a first official visit to Kiev that President Petro Poroshenko called a powerful signal of U.S. support.

Tillerson said Washington's primary goal was the restoration of Ukrainian territorial sovereignty, in comments that will cheer Kiev and show ties are warmer than many in Ukraine dared hope after U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

Ukraine has counted on U.S. support against Russia since a pro-Western government took power following street protests in 2014 that ousted a Kremlin-backed president.

But some of Trump's comments during the election campaign last year, from appearing to recognize Crimea as part of Russia to contemplating an end to U.S. sanctions, stoked fears in Kiev that Trump would mend ties with Moscow at Ukraine's expense.

Such fears appear to have eased, for the moment.

Trump has not cut a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin behind Ukraine's back over the future of Crimea and Donbass, nor have sanctions on Russia been lifted.

"I've been very clear in my discussions with Russian leadership, on more than one occasion, that it is necessary for Russia to take the first steps to de-escalate the situation in the east part of Ukraine, in particular by respecting the ceasefire," Tillerson said.

Relations between Ukraine and Russia went into freefall after Moscow's annexation of Crimea and the subsequent outbreak of a pro-Russian insurgency in the eastern Donbass region that has killed more than 10,000 people.

"We're extremely satisfied with the level of cooperation with our American partners," Poroshenko said during Sunday's talks with Tillerson.

Speaking to reporters later, Poroshenko said: "In today's visit we see a powerful signal of U.S. support in our common fight for democratic values, for freedom and democracy."

NO BIG RESET

A Group of 20 summit in Hamburg on Friday and Saturday was a qualified success for Russia. Putin had his first face-to-face encounter with Trump and avoided confrontation with other leaders about his country's conduct. Putin said the meeting laid the groundwork for some improvement in U.S.-Russian ties.

But the summit did not produce progress on the issue that vexes Russia most: there is no sign that Trump wants to, or even could, lift U.S. sanctions that are hurting the Russian economy.

"I think overall things are in a better place for Ukraine vis--vis the U.S.," said Fabrice Pothier, senior associate at Rasmussen Global, a consultancy founded by the former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who advises Poroshenko.

That's compared to six months ago "when there was a clear state of flux on whether Trump wanted to go for an early, big reset with Putin," Pothier said.

Instead, Poroshenko met Trump in June before Putin did, and, according to the Ukrainian side, was able to convey effectively Ukraine's plight in their 35-minute talk.

Ukraine also flaunted two defense agreements it expects to be signed in the coming months and welcomed as a friendly face the Trump administration's appointment of Kurt Volker as a special representative to the Minsk peace process.

A career diplomat, Volker is a former aide to Republican Senator John McCain, a Russia hawk who wants the United States to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, a move the previous administration under Barack Obama shied away from.

CALM NERVES

"People in general felt very frustrated, very nervous about that (Trump's candidacy) and what could happen," Olexiy Haran, a political science professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, said.

The election of a Republican-controlled Congress, in which senior members from both parties advocate greater support for Ukraine against Russia, helped calm nerves, he said.

"Personal relations were established," Haran said of Poroshenko's June 20 meeting with Trump. "This means that Ukraine is not isolated."

At the same time, the United States has imposed new sanctions on Russia, depriving Putin and the Russian economy of an investment boost ahead of the presidential election in March 2018, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Crimea takeover.

Investigations into alleged Russian interference in the election that got Trump into power will also make it harder for Trump to give Putin concessions, even if he wants to.

Ahead of the G20 summit, Trump called on Russia to stop destabilizing Ukraine, a charge that chimes with Kiev's view of the conflict but one that Moscow rejects.

"Trump boxed himself into a corner on Russia," Pothier said.

"Even if he really wanted to do a reset, he just, because of all the actions he took, all the statements he made during the campaign and since he has been elected president, has greatly constrained his room for maneuver with Russia."

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul summed up the jitters many in Kiev felt in November when he predicted Ukraine would be the "biggest loser" from a Trump victory.

A senior Western diplomat said the precise direction of Trump's policy on Ukraine remained uncertain because of the president's lack of constancy and a lack of clarity about Volker's role.

"The Ukrainians are in a situation much like many other countries where they feel there's a thought through American policy .. but they are still wondering what will happen," he said, on condition of anonymity.

The Ukrainians will also want reassurance that what Tillerson called the "positive chemistry" between Trump and Putin does not bode ill for Kiev.

On Sunday, Trump on Twitter hailed a U.S.-Russian brokered ceasefire that came into effect in parts of Syria, saying: "Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!"

(Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets in Kiev and Christian Lowe in Moscow; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

MOSUL/ERBIL, Iraq Iraq's prime minister declared victory over Islamic State in Mosul on Monday, three years after the militants seized the city and made it the stronghold of a "caliphate" they said would take over the world.

KIEV Ukraine will begin discussions with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on an action plan to get it into the U.S.-led alliance, its leader said on Monday, while the country would work on reforms to meet membership standards by 2020.

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Ukraine's gloom over Trump lifts as Tillerson visits - Reuters

Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

KIEV, July 10. /TASS/. Ukraine has announced plans to toughen border control for Russian citizens starting from January 1, 2018.

After a regular meeting of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council on Monday, its secretary Alexander Turchinov said all foreigners crossing the Ukrainian border will have to undergo biometrical control. "First of all, it will be applicable to Russian citizens," he said, adding that Russians will be required to undergo obligatory fingerprinting procedure.

What is more, prior to visiting Ukraine, Russians will be required to obtain preliminary registration. "It means that a Russian national planning to visit Ukraine will have to be preliminary registered and submit required data to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry," Turchinov explained.

Apart from that, according to Turchinov, all Russians who are already staying in Ukraine must obtain obligatory registration, i.e. to inform local authorities about the places of their sojourn.

He said that the relevant infrastructure will be commissioned by the beginning of the next year, or maybe earlier.

In other media

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Ukraine announces plans to toughen border control for Russian citizens - TASS

BBC News

US sanctions against Russia over Ukraine and Syria to remain BBC News US sanctions imposed against Russia over its annexation of Crimea are to remain, President Donald Trump says. Mr Trump tweeted that it would be premature to consider any relaxation "until the Ukrainian and Syrian problems are solved". The president ... Donald Trump rules out easing Russia sanctions unless Syria, Ukraine issues resolvedEconomic Times Russian stance on Ukraine, Syria never affected by US sanctions: lawmakerXinhua all 1,025 news articles »

The rest is here:
US sanctions against Russia over Ukraine and Syria to remain - BBC News

A week after the G20 summit in Hamburg, foreign affairs and US president Trump will be again on the EU agenda.

On Thursday and Friday (13-14 July), Donald Trump will be hosted in Paris by French president Emmanuel Macron to celebrate Bastille Day. US troops will participate in the traditional military parade to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the US entry in World War One.

Macron wants to "extend a hand" to Trump, so that he is not "isolated", and in order to bring him "back into the circle", French government spokesman Christophe Castaner told French TV last week.

At the G20, Trump was left alone on trade and climate issues against the other world leaders.

According to a White House statement, issued after Trump accepted Macron's invitation, "the two leaders will further build on the strong counter-terrorism cooperation and economic partnership between the two countries, and they will discuss many other issues of mutual concern."

Trump will arrive in Paris on Thursday. According to French media, he will visit a US military cemetery before meeting the French president. Then the two leaders, with their wives, would have dinner in a restaurant at the top of the Eiffel Tower.

The issue of the war in Ukraine might also be be raised, as Macron is part of the so-called Normandy group on the war in Ukraine, alongside German chancellor Angela Merkel, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Both Trump and Macron met with Putin in Hamburg.

Ukraine will also be on the EU agenda this week, with an EU-Ukraine summit taking place in Kiev on Wednesday and Thursday.

The summit will be the first one since visa liberalisation for Ukrainians coming to the EU, which entered into force last month.

It will be also the first since the Netherlands became the last member state to ratify the EU-Ukraine free trade and association agreement in May.

European Commission and European Council presidents, Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk, will meet Poroshenko to discuss the conflict in Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk peace agreement, as well as the ongoing reform process in the country.

The EU is asking Ukrainian authorities to do more to reform the justice and administrative system, fight corruption and devolve more powers to the regions.

EU diplomacy chief Federica Mogherini will also be in Kiev. Before going, she will meet with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Brussels on Tuesday.

In the EU capital, the week will start with a quiet Eurogroup meeting, which only includes the eurozone's finance ministers. For the first time in months, as an EU official noted last week, Greece will not be on the agenda.

On Tuesday, all 28 EU finance ministers will adopt the country-specific economic recommendations, elaborated on by the commission, and discuss how to address non-performing loans loans that banks cannot have paid back, especially since the financial crisis, and which affect the banking sector.

After their meeting, the German, Irish, Italian and Dutch ministers, Wolfgang Schaeuble, Paschal Donohoe, Pier Carlo Padoan and Jeroen Dijsselbloem, will be heard by the European Parliament's inquiry committee on money laundering and tax evasion.

On Wednesday, MEPs in the civil liberties committee will discuss search and rescue activities in the Mediterranean. They will hear from Italian authorities, EU agencies and organisations.

The issue had become controversial after NGOs that rescue migrants, who are attempting to cross from Libya to the Europe, have been accused of favouring human smugglers.

Last week, EU member states backed Italy, which is preparing a code of conduct for NGOs, but refused to help by opening up their ports to boats that carry rescued people. Italy has earlier threatened to close its ports to these vessels.

Also on Wednesday, the committee will hear from Greeces immigration minister, Ioannis Mouzalas, and an UNHCR representative about EU support for Greece in the reception and integration of refugees.

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Trump, Ukraine and NGO sea rescues This WEEK - EUobserver

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Ukraine to reaffirm support for the former Soviet republic two days after the first meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Trump and Putin held more than two hours oftalks at the Group of 20 nations meetingFriday in Hamburg, Germany, though little was disclosed about their discussions on Ukraine.For more than three years, the country has been locked in a conflict with its neighbor over the annexation of Crimea and Russian backing for an insurgency.

Ive been very clear in my discussions with Russian leadership on more than one occasion that it is necessary for Russia to take the first steps to de-escalate the situation in the east part of Ukraine, Tillerson told reportersSunday in Kiev, the capital, after meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. We call on Russia to honor its commitments and exercise influence over the separatists in the region.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

U.S. support has been key to Ukraine containing the conflict in its easternmost regions and rebuilding its economy following a second pro-democracy revolution in a decade. While President Barack Obamas administration provided diplomatic, financial and non-lethal military backing, Trump suggested during his election campaign that he may relax U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine and may even recognize Crimea.

Tillerson said sanctions against Russia will stay in place until peace accords are implemented. Trump tweeted Sunday that he didnt discuss sanctions with Putin and that nothing will be done until the Ukrainian and Syrian problems are solved.

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Trump, who met Poroshenko in Washington in June, sought before his meeting with Putin to alleviate concerns that hed be too accommodating. During a trip to Warsaw on the eve of the G-20, Trump urged Russia to to cease its destabilizing activities in Ukraine and elsewhere. He also explicitly backed NATOs collective-defense commitment and promised more energy supplies for Poland as eastern Europe seeks to avoid an over-reliance on Russian natural gas.

Tillerson on Friday appointed Kurt Volker, a former ambassador to NATO and National Security Council director, to be special representative for Ukraine.

We are going to change the status quo because continuingto leave things the way they are is simply not acceptable, Tillerson said. We have to reinvigorate these talks to move forward, and that is the purpose of our engagement and the purpose of Ambassadors Volker appointment. Volker will spend several days in Kiev for talks, Poroshenko told the same news conference.

Discussions to revive a stalled peace accord for Ukraine are frequently held with the participation of Germany and France, as well as Ukraine and Russia.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Putin on Ukraineon Saturday. Leaders will most likely speak by phone this month, with the call to be followed by a summit, Poroshenko said.

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Tillerson Reassures Ukraine After Trump and Putin Meet at G-20 - Bloomberg