German Chancellor Angela Merkel says it is uncertain whether a flurry of diplomacy aimed at resolving the crisis in Ukraine will succeed, and warned that there are no guarantees that any deal would stick.

Ukraine’s opposition called for international mediation and appealed for Western financial aid for the first time in their protests against the president Viktor Yanukovych yesterday.

THIS weekend, Helmut Schmidt and Henry Kissinger will participate in a discussion at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) — just as they did a half-century ago, when they took part in the first “Internationale Wehrkunde- Begegnung” (the forerunner of today’s conference).

Diplomats failed today to agree on a United Nations resolution aimed at ending the bloodshed in Syria, leaving discussions in limbo pending consultations with their home governments.

Diplomats claimed considerable progress today towards overcoming Russian objections to a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at halting the violence in Syria.