Normandy format meetings
Russia: Ukraine should talk to separatists
1/27/2022 12:54 am
Since 2014, France and Germany have been trying to mediate in talks in the so-called Normandy format between Russia and Ukraine in the Donbass conflict. After a two-year break, negotiations are entering the next round. Russia is pushing for a perspective for the contested regions.
For eight and a half hours, top officials in Ukraine and Russia have been struggling to find a solution to the crisis in view of the tension in the Donbass conflict. There are many differences of opinion in Paris. The consultations are to be continued in Berlin in two weeks
During the negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict, the parties to the conflict in Paris agreed on a joint declaration and commitment to the ceasefire agreed in 2020 for the first time since the end of 2019. One supports the unconditional observance of the ceasefire, it said after the deliberations of Russia and Ukraine under the moderation of Germany and France on Wednesday in Paris in the so-called Normandy format in a statement published by the Élysée Palace.
Russia called on the government in Kiev to engage in dialogue with the forces in the Donbass crisis area. Moscow negotiator Dmitry Kozak said after the eight-and-a-half-hour crisis talks that Kiev now has two weeks to work out a position. Then there should be a follow-up meeting in Berlin, also at the consultant level. Kosak, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s representative for the Ukraine conflict, complained that the government in Kiev reacted negatively or not at all to humanitarian requests and other contact attempts from eastern Ukraine.
The Kremlin official complained that the Ukrainian government has not yet presented any prospects for the contested parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. This is contrary to all experience in resolving conflicts. “You won’t find a clear position anywhere,” said Kosak resignedly. A new summit under Franco-German mediation with Ukraine and Russia will only be possible if there is prior agreement on the planned legal status of the Donbass and on holding elections there. Kosak complained that there were different perspectives on the Minsk peace plan. However, implementation of the Minsk resolutions is a prerequisite for a non-violent solution to the conflict.
Truce relatively stable
Kiev negotiator Andriy Yermak confirmed that there are significant differences of opinion between Moscow and Kiev. At the same time he welcomed: “We can see that the ceasefire is working, there have been a few provocations, but it’s working.” Mechanisms for strengthening them are now being worked on above all. Meanwhile, observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed that the ceasefire has been more stable since the beginning of the month. There has been a 70 percent decrease in violations.
In the conflict, which has been going on for almost eight years, Russia is demanding direct talks between Moscow-backed separatist leaders and the Ukrainian government. Kiev rejects this and describes the rulers in Luhansk and Donetsk as “Moscow puppets”. Germany and France mediate in the conflict – in the so-called Normandy format. However, their negotiated peace plan is on hold. According to UN estimates, more than 14,000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Kremlin separatists in Donbass since then.
The German side then spoke of intensive and difficult talks, which once again made it clear that both Ukraine and Russia continue to see the Minsk Agreement as a basis. It had been a useful exchange, even if no substantial progress had been made. For the first time in a long time, however, there had been direct contacts between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, and it had been agreed that they would continue at regular intervals.
As the Élysée Palace announced after the meeting, the participants in the deliberations support the unconditional observance of the ceasefire and full support for measures to strengthen the ceasefire of July 22, 2020, regardless of differences on other issues related to the implementation of the Minsk agreements. They remain committed to overcoming current differences in future work, it said. France assessed the meeting as difficult but with a good result. The fact that the meeting took place at all is also a sign that Russia is getting involved again.