Headlines:

• Big Power Talks on Ukraine Crisis Make Little Progress
• Tatar Sunni Muslims Pose a Threat to Russia's Occupation of Crimea
• Egypt Military Chief Sisi Hints at Presidential Bid
• Former Ambassador: US Needs to Show Pakistan a Different Face

Details:

Big Power Talks on Ukraine Crisis Make Little Progress

High-level diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Ukraine made little apparent headway at talks in Paris on Wednesday, with Moscow and Washington at odds and Russia's foreign minister refusing to recognize his Ukrainian counterpart. US Secretary of State John Kerry said discussions would continue in the coming days in an attempt to stabilize the crisis and he expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov again in Rome on Thursday. "Don't assume that we did not have serious conversations which produced creative and appropriate ideas on how to resolve this. We have a number of ideas on the table," he said after talks with ministers from Ukraine, Russia, Britain and France. "I don't think any of us had an anticipation that we were coming here at this moment, in this atmosphere of heightened tension and confrontation, that we were suddenly going to resolve that here, this afternoon," Kerry said. Russia had earlier rebuffed Western demands that its forces that have seized control of Ukraine's Crimea region should return to their bases. NATO, at a meeting in Brussels, announced it was cutting back on cooperation with Russia to try to pressure it into backing down on Ukraine and suspended planning for a joint mission linked to Syrian chemical weapons. The alliance said it would step up engagement with Ukraine's new leadership. The European Union offered Ukraine's new pro-Western government 11 billion euros ($15 billion) in financial aid in the next couple of years provided Kiev reaches a deal with the International Monetary Fund. Germany, the EU's biggest economy, also promised bilateral financial help. Ukraine's new finance minister, Oleksander Shlapak, caused a fall in the Ukrainian bond and currency markets by saying his economically shattered country may start talks with creditors on restructuring its foreign currency debt. Russia and the West are locked in the most serious battle since the end of the Cold War for influence in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic with historic ties to Moscow that is a major commodities exporter and strategic link between East and West. Ukraine pulled out of a trade deal with the EU under Russian pressure last year, sparking months of protests in Kiev and the February 22 ouster of Yanukovich, a Russian ally. Ukraine says Russia has occupied Crimea, where the Russian Black Sea fleet is based, provoking an international outcry and sharp falls in financial markets on Monday, though they have since stabilized. [Source: Reuters]

The disagreement between EU, US and Russia over the future of Ukraine is quite obvious as power has its own interests. At present none of the major powers can dominate the situation in Ukraine, until a political settlement is reached in a form of a Ukrainian government that represents all the interests of the major powers. Hence, the status of paralysis will continue in the near future.

Tatar Sunni Muslims Pose a Threat to Russia's Occupation of Crimea

Russia may be tightening its grip on Crimea, with little resistance to date, but they have yet to face the Crimean Tatar factor. There are 266,000 Crimean Tatars in Crimea, over 13% of the local population. They are Sunni Muslim, traditionally pro-Ukrainian, and much better organised than the local Ukrainians, who make up 23% of the population. At rallies last month, the Crimean Tatars were chanting both "Allahu Akbar" in Arabic and "Glory to Ukraine" in Ukrainian. At the time, there was an outside chance of a Crimean regional government supported by the Crimean Tatars, some Ukrainians and local elites who resented the rule of Viktor Yanukovych's clique, which is why Russia then intervened to put its supporters in power instead. So in less than a week, the Crimean Tatars have gone from being heroes of the revolution to an isolated minority. Their leaders are advising them to stay indoors, but there are also reports of Tatars forming self-defence units. The Crimean Tatars have been well organised since the 1960s. They have their own would-be parliament, the Qurultay, which revamped its voting system last year after an internal debate on accountability, introducing some proportional representation. Most religious organisations belong to the allied Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Crimea (DUMK), which has close links to official Islam in Turkey. Radical Islam exists, but has largely been kept to the fringes by the DUMK to date.

Now the Crimean Tatars fear these organisations will be suppressed in a Russian-controlled Crimea. Since Yanukovych's election in 2010, the Qurultay and its smaller executive body, the Mejlis, have been squeezed out of official organs and forced to compete with new radical parties, allegedly sponsored by the authorities in both Kiev and Moscow.Now the Crimean Tatars fear these organisations will be suppressed in a Russian-controlled Crimea. Since Yanukovych's election in 2010, the Qurultay and its smaller executive body, the Mejlis, have been squeezed out of official organs and forced to compete with new radical parties, allegedly sponsored by the authorities in both Kiev and Moscow. The Mejlis may be replaced by the small number of pro-Russian Crimean Tatars, who have been dubbed the "Kazany", because they are always saying life is better for the Volga Tatars in Kazan, capital of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan. The veteran leader of the Mejlis, Mustafa Cemiloğlu, has recently retired after a long career advocating peaceful protest. His successor, Refat Chubarov, follows a similar line. But since 2010, there has been a rising number of clashes over land, the desecration of graves and monuments, and fights over market trading rights with local mafia groups. The seventieth anniversary of the 1944 deportation will fall this May. The idea had been to hold an international conference on the Crimean Tatar problem; now it looks likely to be the key flashpoint. If the Crimean Tatar problem explodes, the blowback for Moscow will be immense. Russia's relationship with Turkey is already under threat. Its reputation as a friend of Islam in the Middle East will be damaged. Russia has millions of Muslims of its own, the vast majority of whom are Sunni, including next door in the North Caucasus. Historically, the Crimean Tatars had close ties with the Circassians, who were driven from the Sochi area in 1864. And one reason why Putin has invested so much in backing Assad's Alawite regime in Syria against the Sunni majority was his fear of Sunni unrest at home. [Source: The Guardian]

Only the Khilafah "Caliphate" will bring peace and security to the Muslims of Crimea and Muslims living in nearby lands. The Muslims of Turkey need to redouble their efforts to re-establish the Khilafah "Caliphate", so that the Crimea can once again become part of Dar-Islam.

Egypt Military Chief Sisi Hints at Presidential Bid

Egypt's armed forces chief, Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, has said he cannot ignore calls by the majority for him to run for president. He was quoted by the state news agency Mena as revealing that "official procedures" regarding his candidacy were expected in the coming days. It is the clearest indication yet that he will stand in the election which is scheduled to take place by mid-April.He led the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in July.The field marshal has been widely expected to resign and declare a presidential bid since the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) gave its public support at the end of January. Correspondents say he would be likely to win, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals. Field Marshal Sisi commented on his prospective candidacy in a speech at a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy in Cairo. He said he could "not turn his back on calls by the majority of Egyptians for him to run for president", Mena reported. "Official measures should be taken in the coming days," he added. The field marshal added that Egypt was "going through a critical phase that required unity among the people, army and police", arguing that "no party alone can help Egypt get up onto its feet in such conditions". Officials close to the field marshal have told AFP news agency he will step down as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and defence minister after a law regulating the presidential election is approved by Interim President Adly Mansour this week or next. The 59-year-old former military intelligence chief was appointed to the posts by Mr Morsi in August 2012.

Sisi and his supporters are putting Egypt through a critical phase by dividing and terrorising the Egyptian population through brutal killings, torture, arbitrary arrest and the outright show of force. Anyone who speaks against Sisi and his policies is immediately incarcerated. Is this how Sisi plans to unite Egyptians?

Former Ambassador: US Needs to Show Pakistan a Different Face

Former US Ambassador Cameron Munter suggested that for the US to forge a better relationship with Pakistan the focus on governmental relations needs to be dimmed. "When we were in Pakistan, what Pakistanis didn't like about America was our focus on our own security and that we weren't looking at it from their point of view," Munter told attendees during Wednesday's Ashe Lecture at the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy on the University of Tennessee campus. "What they admire about the US is that we have great universities, is that we have businesses that they admire. They admire our culture. They admire those things we are best at." Munter, the US ambassador to Pakistan from 2010 to 2012, said America should stay engaged, "but in a different way led by universities, led by foundations, led by businesses. I think that's where we show the face that I'm most proud of in America and where the Pakistanis will respond." It was during Munter's tenure in Pakistan that US forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, an event that heavily contributed to the tension on American and Pakistani relations. "We realized that even though it was really important to do (the Navy SEAL operation) without telling the Pakistani government, there was a price to be paid and that meant the Pakistanis were upset about what happened," Munter said. "What we had to do at the embassy after the raid was to make sure that it was understood that we still wanted to work with Pakistan on matters of mutual benefit." [Source: Knoxnews.com]

The arrogant Munter like his current counterparts have a skewed view of what Pakistanis think of America. The overwhelming majority of Pakistanis dislike what America stands for; which is tyranny. Only a small minority of the Pakistani elite are on board with America's war against Islam, and speaking to them only will certainly give the impression that America is liked.