The building blocks of a possible diplomatic solution in Ukraine have emerged as top Russian and Western officials try to defuse one of Europe's worst crises since the Cold War.
The European Union prepared a $15 billion aid package for Ukraine, and European and Ukrainian diplomats outlined ways that all sides could step back from the brink of a new global conflict.
Yet it all hinges on Russia, whose troops remain on Ukraine's strategic Crimean peninsula and which sees Ukraine as a crucial part of its geopolitical backyard.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov refused to meet his Ukrainian counterpart in a whirlwind day of talks in Paris on Wednesday, according to a top French diplomat.
The stakes in the rapidly escalating crisis have risen steadily since the departure last month of Ukraine's pro-Russian president after months of street protests and Moscow's takeover of Crimea. NATO is taking up the Ukraine situation Wednesday directly with Russia in an extraordinary meeting in Brussels of the military alliance, originally created as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union.
Russia is open to international mediation, but a major sticking point has been Moscow's refusal to recognise Ukraine's new government much less sit down at the table with them, the French diplomat said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of government policy.
He described the diplomatic elements emerging today as a "work in progress."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said a key demand was for Russia's military to pull back to its Black Sea bases to show a tangible de-escalation, but he did not press on a deadline as European diplomats had initially warned.
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