Visa-free Ukraine exchanged for compliance with Minsk
The European Union actually delivered an ultimatum to Ukraine regarding the implementation of the agreements signed in Minsk on the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Donbass.
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Ukrainian political scientist Dmitry Korneichuk said this at a press conference in Kyiv, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent, noting that Europe is using a “carrot with a stick” policy towards Ukraine.
“We have already received the carrot – the decision of the European Parliament on a visa-free regime and the allocation of a 600 million euro tranche from the European Commission,” the expert noted.
He also recalled that until recently the EU linked its tranche to the lifting of the moratorium on the export of round timber, but now this claim “suddenly magically evaporated and the money quickly came to Ukraine.”
Koreniychuk also noted that in the case of a visa-free regime, “Europe has extended one hand to Ukraine, but holds the other behind its back,” since approval by the EU Council of Ministers is still awaited.
“Germany and France play a key role here; we see a certain ultimatum set by Poroshenko, Merkel and Hollande: first, progress in implementing the Minsk agreements, and then a visa-free regime and the possible allocation of macroeconomic tranches. If there is no progress, then there will be many reasons why the EU Council of Ministers will not be able to consider the issue of a visa-free regime,” the political scientist said.
“We are now waiting for a significant event. This is a meeting in Moscow between Tillerson and Lavrov. after which the scope of the obligations that the United States assumes in relation to Ukraine will be clear in principle. And then a meeting in the Normandy format, where Poroshenko will officially take on some obligations if he expects that the West will continue to provide him with some kind of assistance,” believes Korneychuk.
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