The heads of the Russian and German Foreign Ministries called for reviving the Minsk agreements
Moscow - Kiev, November 19 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Stamm) - The heads of the Russian and German Foreign Ministries in Moscow spoke in favor of resuscitating the “no alternative” Minsk agreements, contrary to Kiev’s calls to transfer negotiations to the Geneva format - with the participation of the United States, but without the DPR and LPR.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator – Kyiv news on Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
Yesterday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Moscow following a meeting in Kyiv with President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, lasted an hour and, judging by the expressions on the faces of the ministers who spoke to reporters, were tense. Despite differing assessments of the causes of the Ukrainian crisis and the current situation in Donbas, Sergey Lavrov and Frank-Walter Steinmeier nevertheless unanimously spoke in favor of implementing—indeed, reviving—the September Minsk agreements, recalling that they remain the only document signed by both sides to resolve the crisis, Kommersant reports.
Both ministers acknowledged that the agreements are not ideal, but warned that there is no reasonable alternative. “Even if there are reasons to say that the most important obligations were not fulfilled, it would nevertheless be a huge loss to refuse these documents,” said the head of the German Foreign Ministry. Sergei Lavrov warmly supported him: “There are many who want, not only in Kiev, but also in distant states that have influence on Kiev, to make sure that the Minsk agreements fail and that the fate of Ukraine is decided without those who are now defending their rights to live in their own country.” land in the southeast, and then impose on them what would be agreed upon without them. Attempts to claim that the Minsk agreements have failed and to undermine them are pure provocation.”
Earlier, during a joint briefing with Mr. Steinmeier, Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted that he considers the Geneva format of negotiations to resolve the situation in southeast Ukraine “one of the most acceptable.” Geneva means with the participation of representatives of the United States and the EU, but without delegates from southeast Ukraine. In addition to representatives of Kyiv, the Minsk format involved militias, as well as negotiators from Russia and the OSCE.
Sergei Lavrov, commenting on Yatsenyuk’s statement, could not resist sarcasm: “There is constitutional confusion in Ukraine now, it is not always clear who is responsible for what, but, in my opinion, everyone agrees that the president is responsible for foreign policy and the actions of the military. Nevertheless, Arseniy Yatsenyuk actively speaks out on all issues of internal and external life.” The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that Yatsenyuk himself signed both the agreement of February 21 (it was torn down a day after signing) and the Geneva statement of April 17 (his demands were never met).
Lavrov and Steinmeier were also unanimous on what steps should be taken first of all to resuscitate the Minsk process: accurately determine the demarcation line between territories controlled by Kiev and the militias, disengage troops and begin the withdrawal of heavy equipment, create a demilitarized zone and provide the opportunity for monitoring by OSCE forces. At the same time, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry called for concentrating on stimulating the parties to implement these points “instead of making panicky statements, behind which there is a desire to doom any efforts to implement the Minsk agreements.”
The Russian and German foreign ministers called for the revival of the Minsk agreements.