Russia on Saturday March 29pledged it would not invade mainland Ukraine following its seizure of Crimea and said it favored the ex-Soviet state becoming a federation as a way of defusing the crisis.
Tensions have run high after Russian President Vladimir Putin ripped up the post-Soviet order with Moscow’s lightning takeover of Crimea from Ukraine, with the United States accusing Russia of massing tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s eastern border.
But telephone talks between Putin and US counterpart Barack Obama late on Friday were the latest sign of a slight lessening in tensions between Moscow and the West and a search for a mutual solution in what remains the worst Ukraine is now entering a crucial phase in its development after the fall of pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych in February, as the clock ticks down to May 25 presidential elections which are expected to cement Kiev’s pro-West course.