国际英语新闻:Pro-Russia Separatists Reject Amnesty Offer in Ukraine Standoff

President Vladimir Putin has told European leaders a dispute over Ukraine's $2.2 billion gas debt to Russia could affect supplies of Russian gas to Europe and proposed urgent discussions on the matter.

In a letter, Putin said that Ukraine's growing debt and non-payment is forcing Russia to institute an "advance payment" system for gas delieveries.

Acknowledging the exreme nature of the measure, Putin warned that it "increases the risk of siphoning off natural gas passing through Ukraine's territory and heading to European consumers," said Putin.

Calling for urgent consultations on the matter, Putin said that Russia was willing to do its part to stabilize and restore Ukraine's economy, however, "not in a unilateral way, but on equal conditions with our European partners."

Meanwhile, the United States on Thursday said it condemned Russian efforts to use energy as a “tool of coercion” in its dispute with Ukraine, criticizing the current price Moscow charges Kyiv for natural gas as inflated and higher than for European customers.

“We condemn Russia's efforts to use energy as a tool of coercion against Ukraine,” State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Thursday.
 
She also pledged U.S. support for Kyiv.

“The United States is taking immediate steps to assist Ukraine, including the provision of emergency finance, technical assistance in the areas of energy security, energy efficiency, energy sector reform,” said Psaki.

Russia suspended from Council of Europe

Russia was suspended from the parliamentary assembly of European human rights watchdog the Council of Europe on Thursday, in protest over Moscow's behavior towards Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.

The 18 Russian parliamentarians who were suspended will not be able to vote in the 318-head assembly, have representation in its main committees or take part in its election observation missions.

But the body, whose members come from 47 European states, stopped short of withdrawing the Russian delegates’ rights for good, arguing that would not help efforts to resolve the biggest crisis between the West and Russia since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Torture alleged in Crimea

A Ukrainian activist said on Thursday he was abducted and tortured by a pro-Russia group in Crimea in an 11-day ordeal before being released in a prisoner swap last month.

Andriy Shchekun spoke to reporters in Vienna on the sidelines of a conference on torture hosted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation's human rights arm, after being introduced by U.S. ambassador to the OSCE, Daniel Baer.

Shchekun said his captors had stripped him naked, shot him with air guns, beat him, attached electrodes to his body and threatened to cut off his ear as the price for getting back a cross he was wearing when snatched on March 9.

Mikhail Sheremet, commander of the Crimean “self-defense” force that Shchekun claims to have been tortured by, said he had not heard of the case and dismissed accusations of torture as "complete nonsense."