To check the crisis in Ukraine

With fighting in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian army and the Russian-backed separatists reaching a new, ominous, pitch in recent days, there is fear that the crisis will get out of control and lead to an even wider conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told students in St Petersburg last week that the Ukrainian army is “no longer an army but a foreign legion, in this case NATO’s foreign legion”.

This is indeed a very serious charge that NATO quickly dismissed as outrageous.

Kiev has accused the separatist forces in the east of the country, which are fighting the central government for control of a vast swathe of territory, of being Russia’s men — backed and supported with men and military equipment from Russia — since the very beginning of the conflict.

The rapidly deteriorating situation in the country has led Kiev to declare a state of emergency and to ask the West for help to stop the separatists from making more military advances.

Moscow, on the other hand, has long accused the West of wanting to encircle it with NATO armies, so any intervention would be seen as proof of such charge.

Despite repeated efforts by the UN Security Council to defuse the situation in Ukraine, by adopting various statements calling for the de-escalation of tension, no effective resolution has been arrived at, mainly because of Russian objections.

The two sides appear thus poised to escalate even further their armed and political conflicts.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev warned in an interview with German Magazine Der Spiegel at the beginning of the year that the tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine could result in a major armed conflict or even a nuclear war.

“This is not something I’m saying thoughtlessly,” said Gorbachev.

“I am extremely concerned.”

Coming from such a seasoned politician, the warning must be taken seriously.

A summit between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin could be a good starting point for a process that should seek to put an end to the crisis in Ukraine.

Allowing it to deteriorate further and spiral out of control is unwise and may end up affecting not only Ukraine, but the wider neighbourhood.

It is time to intervene in earnest. Yugoslavia cannot be too far away in Europeans’ memories.