One fact that is important to note is that it was in January of this year that the Ukrainian parliament declared the Russia-backed separatist republics in the east to be terrorist organizations, formally eliminating the possibility of holding peace talks with their representatives. What this meant was that it allowed the Kyiv government to apply counter-terrorism laws to the separatists. That means the government has the right to restrict their movements within Ukraine, block their bank accounts, and most importantly stop them from participating in peace talks. Some believe this was done because the Ukrainian parliament did not want to deal with the separatists and would only negotiate with Russia directly
As we have learned in this class, like many conflicts in the world, defining the situation in the Ukraine as terrorism depends on what side of the conflict you are on. The government of Kyiv labels th eastern separatists as terrorists while some support them as freedom fighters.
Because of this it really depends on which side of the conflict you are on when it comes to a solution. While it is not certain that violence would cease if the separatists were allowed to formally secede from the Ukraine and rejoin Russia it does seem unlikely that the situation will end well if the Kyiv government continues to label the entire Russian speaking portion of its eastern territory as terrorists.
In my opinion the most important part of this process is that the international community needs to put pressure on Russia to be open about it’s dealings with the separatists, for example whether or not they have been supplying them with arms, and to work with the Ukrainian government to reach a peaceful solution as only the cooperation between these nations will lead to any lasting peaceful resolution to the conflict.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pro-russian-rebels-officially-labelled-terrorists-by-ukraine-government-1.2933845
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/putin-accuses-us-supporting-separatists-russia-30592860