The crisis in Ukraine, which started in March of this year, is entering its third stage since May, dragging all eastern states in the country into the political unrest.
Earlier, the first stage was marked by the standoff between the faction that supported former President Viktor Yanukovych and those who wanted to ousted him; later, Crimea's independence and its wish to join the Russian Federation formed the second stage.
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The body of a man is covered by the Mariupol city flag as it lies next to police car plates following fierce fighting in the southeastern Ukrainian city on May 9, 2014. Fierce fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels broke out in Mariupol, killing at least 21 people. [Xinhua Photo] |
All parties in the unrest understand that contention, as a means to be tried by all sides in the early stage, would not last forever. They are also aware that a dialogue would provide them with a prioritized position in the aftermath.
The international community, headed by the foreign ministers of the United States and Russia, established the Geneva Talks in March, shortly after the clashes started, as the only official mechanism for dialogue, in an attempt to ease the tensions in Ukraine.
Yet the Geneva Talks, though in appearance aim to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, in nature contain the struggle between superpowers.
During the talks, Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the EU reached a deal that demanded all illegal armed forces to put down their weapons, and those occupying Ukrainian government buildings to leave. In exchange, the Ukrainian government promised to consider a constitutional reform in the eastern region. The deal also wants all anti-government protesters in Ukraine to receive amnesty.
The deal urged all parties involved to exercise restraint as to prevent any form of violence from happening and to oppose the various extremisms, racism and religious discrimination in the eastern European country.
In reality, however, the pro-Russian clan in eastern Ukraine does not acknowledge the legitimacy of the four-party deal. At the same time, the Ukrainian government is losing patience, as became evident in the large-scale crackdown. All sides' attempts to use dialogue to de-escalate tensions have failed.
