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An Austrian appeals court on Tuesday approved the extradition to the United States of a Ukrainian oligarch withties to a former senior Trump adviser on corruptioncharges.

Dmytro Firtash, a billionairewho made a fortune as a middleman in Ukraines rough-and-tumblegas industry, has been indicted by U.S. prosecutors for allegedly bribing Indian officials to secure a titanium deal. An extradition request in 2015 had been denied by a Viennese court, which called the U.S. allegationspolitically motivated. A final decision on whether to hand over Firtash to the United States will be made by Austrias justice minister.

Firtash wielded significant political power in Ukraine under former president Viktor Yanukovych, who was overthrown amid street protests in 2014. Firtash was arrested in Vienna on an FBI warrant just weeks after Yanukovych fled to Russia and was succeeded by a vocally pro-Western government. Firtashs lawyers say that he is being targeted by the United States as part of a political inquisition against Yanukovychs former political allies.

It wasnt for us to judge whether Mr. Firtash was guilty, but only whether the extradition is allowed, Judge Leo Levnaic-Iwanski said in the ruling on the U.S. request Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported. This decision only means that another country will make a decision whether he is guilty.

Lawyers for Firtash had sought to paint the allegations against Firtash as a strategy to limit Russian influence in Ukraine.The criminal investigation was initiated duringthe Obama administration.

In a statement, Firtashs U.S. legal team said it wasdisappointed by the appeals court decision and said he was innocent.

If and when Mr. Firtash is required to come to the United States, the team will fight to obtain dismissal of this unjust case by the Department of Justice or, if necessary, in U.S. courts, to clear Mr. Firtash's name, the statement read.

Firtash had previously weighed teamingup with American investors and political strategist Paul Manafort, who for a time managed Donald Trumps presidential campaign, to buy high-end real estate in the United States, including the famous Drake Hotel in New York.

According to correspondence revealed in a 2011 lawsuit brought against Firtash by former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko,Manafort met with Firtash in May, June and August of 2008 to seal the Manhattan real estate deal, according to a memo by Rick Gates, another Trump strategist. Firtash had agreed to put $112 million into buying the Drake Hotel, tearing it down and building a new luxury skyscraper, to be called the Bulgari Tower.

Tymoshenko claimed that Firtash was trying to invest ill-gotten proceeds from gas deals in Ukraine. The lawsuit was thrown out of a U.S. court for lack of evidence. No deals were completed, and Firtash has denied that he invested in the project.

Firtash owned half of a company that negotiated natural gas sales from Russia and Central Asian countries to Ukraine, a lucrative business that Reuters in 2014 reported made him billions of dollars.

In another twist, Firtash was detained shortly after Tuesdays decision by Austrian police serving a Spanish warrant separate from the extradition ruling. Spain in November sought Firtashs arrest for charges of money laundering and reported ties to organized crime. It was not immediately clear why the arrest came shortly after the extradition ruling or whether the Spanish extradition request would take precedence.

Read more:

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Austrian court approves extradition of Ukrainian oligarch tied to Trump campaign adviser - Washington Post

On Tuesday, the head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the ceasefire wasn't having the effect that his organization was hoping.

"It's not really quiet on the line of contact and that there are no signs of the withdrawal of the weapons," OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said at the United Nations headquarters, where he had previously addressed the UN Security Council.

"The crisis in and around the Ukraine continues to be a major source of tension and instability in Europe," he said. Zannier had been invited by the Ukraine delegation of the security council to speak before the chamber.

He told the security council that the OSCE was "monitoring the ceasefire and are ready to observe the much-needed withdrawal of heavy weapons."

Zannier later told reporters at the United Nations that there continued to be a number of violations and that the impact on civilians in the disputed regions were becoming "increasingly significant."

"We will need to keep pushing and activate the international community also to put pressure on the sides to implement" steps to ensure the ceasefire holds.

His appearance at the UN came just before the organization's chief monitor told CNN that there were about 200 ceasefire violations overnight Tuesday local time. The number is added to hundreds more observed since the ceasefire nominally began Monday morning.

Alexander Hug, Principle Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine told CNN's Clare Sebastian that around 100 of those were explosions, indicating that heavy weaponry like tanks and mortars are still in place.

Unlike the last few weeks, where critical infrastructure was cut off, there is no immediate crisis as of now, but any of these explosions could knock out a power line and make things worse, Hug added.

Zannier said relations between the West and Russia remain "strongly adversarial" and that "in Europe we increasingly see the impact of an approach to the post-Cold war phase (of cooperation) with a Cold War mentality."

He said there was a "very real risk of escalation" in fighting in the region and that Russian President Vladimir Putin's executive order to recognize travel documents from the de facto, pro-Russian separatist authorities in disputed areas of eastern Ukraine "complicates the implementation of the Minsk agreement."

Putin effectively withdrew from the Minsk agreement last week by signing an executive order recognizing travel documents issued by separatist authorities in the region.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia is recognizing the travel documents "for humanitarian reasons."

The Minsk agreement, which was negotiated in 2014 but never fully implemented, calls for the "bilateral cessation of the use of all weapons," and the decentralization of power in the region "with respect to the temporary status of local self-government in certain areas of the Donetsk and the Lugansk regions."

At the time, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk spoke with guarded optimism.

"We had just two options: bad, and worse," he said. "So we decided at this particular period of time to get the bad option. Probably this option will save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers, and I hope this option will save lives of Ukrainian civilians, of innocent people, who are under a constant shelling of Russian-led terrorists."

"It's better to have this new deal rather than not to have (it)," he said. "But we do not trust any words or any papers. We are to trust only actions and deeds."

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Ukraine ceasefire: No signs of weapons withdrawal, official says - CNN

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN in New York, file photo - RV

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican on Tuesday said all necessary steps should be taken to enforce the ceasefire and to implement the measures agreed upon in Ukraine.

The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, was speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

Concerning the conflict in Ukraine, which continues to cause grave concern since it began in 2014, the Holy See underscores once again that all necessary steps should be taken to enforce the ceasefire and to implement the measures agreed upon, Archbishop Auza said These efforts should be accompanied by the sincere commitment of all involved parties to respecting all fundamental human rights and restoring stability at the national and international levels, not least by respecting international legality with regard to Ukraines territory and borders

The Vatican diplomat added that by committing itself to offering direct humanitarian assistance to the population of the affected areas, the Holy See stresses the need to protect the civilians and the urgency of making every possible effort to avoid the continuation of this unresolved conflict and to find a political solution through dialogue and negotiation.

The full text of the statement is below

Intervention of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Maintenance of international peace and security: Conflicts in Europe New York, 21 February 2017

Mr. President,

With this intervention, the Holy See intends to reiterate its closeness to and solidarity with all peoples afflicted by conflicts and aggressions of any kind, including the so-called hybrid wars and frozen situations.

The Holy See holds that any initiative in maintaining international peace and security should necessarily be inspired and driven by humanitarian considerations, namely the preservation of human life, the assuring of adequate living conditions and the alleviation of suffering. At the same time, it is the obligation of States to refrain from actions that destabilize neighbouring countries and work together to create the necessary conditions for peace and reconciliation.

Concerning the conflict in Ukraine, which continues to cause grave concern since it began in 2014, the Holy See underscores once again that all necessary steps should be taken to enforce the ceasefire and to implement the measures agreed upon. These efforts should be accompanied by the sincere commitment of all involved parties to respecting all fundamental human rights and restoring stability at the national and international levels, not least by respecting international legality with regard to Ukraines territory and borders (cf. Statement of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See, Human Rights Council 28th Session, 26 March 2015).

By committing itself to offering direct humanitarian assistance to the population of the affected areas, the Holy See stresses the need to protect the civilians and the urgency of making every possible effort to avoid the continuation of this unresolved conflict and to find a political solution through dialogue and negotiation.

In this regard, the Holy See continues to welcome the efforts made by the UN, the OSCE and other relevant organizations to promote peace throughout Europe, including in Ukraine.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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Vatican to Security Council: enforce Ukraine ceasefire - Vatican Radio

John McCain and Lindsey Graham have been urging Ukrainian soldiers to break the Minsk cease-fire agreement.

US Senator John McCain speaks on February 17, 2017, at the opening of the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany. (Reuters / Michael Dalder)

Arizona Senator John McCain has been garnering headlines for his tough talk about Donald J. Trump, and much else, at the annual Munich Security Conference, which took place over the weekend. McCainwho appears on the cover of the current issue of New York magazine alongside the question: How Many Chances Do You Get to Be an American Hero?has, after eight years in the wilderness, reemerged once again as a darling of the American media, its go-to source for straight talk.

In Munich, McCain took aim at President Donald Trumps so-called America First foreign policy, expressing alarm that many of our peoples, including in my own country, are giving up on the West, that they see it as a bad deal that we may be better off without. McCain continued, noting that he, unlike Trump, refuses to accept that our values are morally equivalent to those of our adversaries. I am, proclaimed McCain, a proud, unapologetic believer in the West, and I believe we must always, always stand up for it. For if we do not, who will?

Michael R. Gordon of The New York Times praised McCains speech, calling it a star turn.

Meanwhile in Munich, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, and Secretary of Homeland Security James Kelly all pledged eternal fidelity to NATO, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov observed (correctly) that the alliance has remained a Cold War institution. The Wests blinkered insistence on the relevance, to say nothing of the appeal, of the alliance, particularly among the population of prospective members like Ukraine, has been studiously ignored by transatlantic security confabs like the Munich Conference for some years now. And yet Western politicians, and that peculiar species known in Washington as defense intellectuals, might do well to consider the results of a recent Gallup poll that found that 35 percent of Ukrainians view NATO as a threat, as against 29 percent who see it as a source of protection and 26 percent who see it as neither.

Yet one bit of positive news to emerge from Munich was what seemed to be a renewed commitment to implement the 2015 Minsk cease-fire agreement on the part of Russia and Ukraine. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the parties to the agreement would meet perhaps in three weeks, to see if we can advance on the ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons and exchange of prisoners.

A push for peace is all the more urgent given the uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, caused by what many have described as a creeping offensive by Kiev to take and hold rebel-held territory along the cease-fire line.

Tellingly, Kievs recent offensive came almost immediately following a trip to to the wars front lines by none other than Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham. In the presence of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, Graham told a brigade of Ukrainian soldiers: Your fight is our fight. 2017 will be the year of offense. For his part, McCain told the troops, I believe you will win. I am convinced you will win and we will do everything we can to provide you with what you need to win.

One could be forgiven for wondering if there is any precedent for such an incitement to violence by two sitting US senators?

Meanwhile, the US Army has established what it euphemistically calls a Joint Multinational Training Group in Yavoriv, Ukraine, for the express purpose of providing defensive and security training for up to five battalions of Ministry of Defense forces per year until 2020. The presence of American troops in Ukraine arguably represents the most serious obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and yet the establishment of an American army base on the territory of a non-NATO country on Russias border has received no media coverage and zero congressional scrutiny.

This week, the conflict in Ukraine enters its fourth year. UNICEF reports that a million children in eastern Ukraine are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, while the casualty count on both sides continues to climb. French Foreign Minister Ayrault was moved to observe over the weekend that the Russians and Ukrainians have no other option, but to respect Minsk. They have no alternatives. But he cautioned,We need a lot of patience because we can see a lack of will on either side.

More:
McCain Talks Tough as the War in Ukraine Continues Without End ... - The Nation.

The Kiev authorities should be held responsible for the bloodshed that has gripped eastern Ukraine, as they failed to reach out to the people in the Donbass region, opting for full-fledged war instead, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said.

The smoldering military conflict in eastern Ukraine has been propelled back into the headlines, with a new spike in violence in early February.

The escalation highlighted the fragile nature of the ceasefire and the need for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, the key condition on the way to a peaceful settlement, which was reconfirmed in the recent Normandy format meeting.

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In an interview with Russian and Ukrainian media on Tuesday, former Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich, now living in southern Russia, argued that the military suppression of unrest in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions was an inherently flawed and ill-conceived decision by Kiev.

The bloodshed in eastern Ukraine might have been averted if the authorities in Kiev made an attempt to find common ground with people in Donetsk and Lugansk, Yanukovich said, adding that the decision to launch their so-called anti-terrorist operation against the rebels amounted to a declaration of war against the people.

Of course, everyone who took part in this decision must be held responsible. This is a crime against their own people, the former Ukrainian leader said.

The current authorities did not make a single attempt to talk to the people, who were against the coup, he argued, adding that Kiev should have found a way towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict at that stage.

Any blockade of the Donbass region is not in the interests of Ukraine if they do not need Donbass, they should say it openly, but if they do, then start negotiations with these people, why torment them? he said.

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Instead, the Ukrainian government divided the country into winners and losers, further alienating the eastern regions, Yanukovich pointed out, arguing that the authorities stop at nothing, including terror.

The government actuality believes in its impunity it has lost the fear of the people, he said, listing killing journalists, shutting down various information agencies, silencing dissidents among the various draconian methods the government has resorted to in order to assert itself.

In 2016, the UN human rights watchdog, the OHCHR, released a report accusing both sides of the conflict in Ukraine of multiple human rights violations, including torture, intimidation, illegal detention, and executions. The report also shed light on a government-run torture program and clandestine detention centers.

READ MORE:Those behind recent violence in Ukraine don't want US-Russian relations to improve - Churkin to RT

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Kiev's military op in E. Ukraine 'crime against own people' ex-Ukrainian President Yanukovich - RT