Key Developments

• At a joint news conference with other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed concern that Western influence will interfere with the process of Ukraine’s constitutional reform, stating that “the West has taken up the role of arbiter of Ukraine's fate, while the current authorities ... lack significant independence.”
   
• Russia recalled its ambassador to NATO on Thursday, following NATO’s decision to suspend cooperation with Russia. 
   
• Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) detained 25 Ukrainians on Thursday on accusations that they are members of ultra-nationalist movements and were planning terrorist attacks inside Russia on orders from Ukraine’s Security Service. 
   
• Ukraine is in emergency talks with European neighbors to discuss the obstacles to importing gas from the West into Ukraine. The meetings come after Russia nearly doubled the price of gas being exported to Ukraine in the last three days and warnings from Ukrainian President Yatsenyuk that Russia could potentially increase pressure on Ukraine by limiting the supply of gas.
   
  • U.S.-based energy company Westinghouse Electric Co. is in negotiations with Ukrainian energy supplier Energoatom to extend its contract to provide nuclear fuel for the country’s reactors. Besides Westinghouse, Russia’s state-owned Rosatom is the only producer of fuel for this particular type of reactor. Such a deal would foster a greater commitment between Ukraine and the West while decreasing Ukraine’s energy dependency on Russia.
     
• NATO jets took part in an air patrol over Lithuania as an act of reassurance to its Eastern European members.
   
• On Thursday, President Obama signed into law the bill that provides $1 billion in loans to Ukraine. President Obama also met with Congressional leaders at the White House on Thursday for talks on the Ukraine Crisis.

Government Statements:

Speech by NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow to the 21st International Conference on Euro-Atlantic Security, Krakow, Poland, “A new strategic reality in Europe,” 4 April 2014

Speech by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his answers to questions during joint press conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Erlan Idrisov, 3 April 2014

News Items:

James G. Neuger, “NATO Condemns Russia’s ‘Propaganda’ as Lavrov Cries Foul,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 4 April 2014

Mark Silva, “Obama’s Russian Reset Lost in Putin’s Translations,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 4 April 2014

Thomas Grove, “Russia recalls military representative in rebuke to NATO,” Reuters, 3 April 2014

Simon Shuster, “Ukraine and Russia Demonize Each Other With Claims of Terrorism,” Time, 3 April 2014

“Kiev Ignored Independent Sniper Case Assessment – Lavrov,” RIA Novosti, 4 April 2014

Natalia Zinets, Richard Balmforth and Paul Ingrassia, “Ukraine PM says will stick to austerity despite Moscow pressure,” Chicago Tribune, 4 April 2014

Agence France-Press, “Ukraine eyes coal after Russian gas price hike,” GlobalPost, 4 April 2014

Kathy Lally, “Pro-Russian protests diminish in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region,” The Washington Post, 3 April 2014

Kenneth Rapoza, “Russia Helped Ukraine, But Now Ukraine Needs More, IMF's Lagarde Says,” Forbes, 3 April 2014

“EU must be ready with Russia sanctions over Ukraine: UK,” Reuters, 4 April 2014.

Fyodor Lukyanov, “Does Russia need America?,” Russia Beyond the Headlines, 4 April 2014

Sir Rodric Braithwaite, “Is the crisis in Ukraine a plum ripe for picking?,” Russia Beyond the Politics, 3 April 2014