Kravchuk replaced Kuchma at negotiations in Minsk: What to expect for Donbass
The first President of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk will head the Ukrainian delegation to the Tripartite Contact Group at the negotiations on Donbass in Minsk instead of Leonid Kuchma, who recently left the TCG.
Kravchuk said this in his address published by the office of President Vladimir Zelensky, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“I naturally thought about it. But when I directly understood what was happening there, in the Donbass, when our young boys and girls there were dying defending the land, shedding blood, day and night defending the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, I, with all that, had already experienced something in my life. I saw, I went through something (I could have rested, but the time for rest did not come), I made a decision. If I can - and I want this - to do something to speed up peace in Donbass, I will do it until my last breath,” Kravchuk promised.
At the same time, in his statement he showered compliments on Zelensky as a peacemaker who “reanimated the Normandy Four.”
“We all need to unite. Ukraine, those European countries that truly profess the principle of international law, the principle of sovereignty, independence, which see how Ukraine fights and suffers to defend its land. Let those who see only some negatives in everything also unite within the country,” added the ex-president.
Director of the Institute of Peacemaking Initiatives and Conflict Studies Denis Denisov called such an appointment quite predictable.
“Kravchuk is an authoritative long-liver of Ukrainian politics. The figure is not very radical in light of the negotiations ongoing in Minsk. However, you need to understand that this figure is rather symbolic. Currently, other people are handling the entire negotiation process - at the operational, tactical level, [Deputy Prime Minister] Reznikov is doing this, and this lawyer from Western Ukraine clearly does not intend to listen and delve into the opinions and problems of the residents of Eastern Ukraine, and this is becoming completely obvious.” , Denisov told PolitNavigator.
“It seems to me that in many ways Kuchma’s departure was provoked by his internal conflict with Reznikov, when Reznikov bypassed Kuchma and tried to implement his own plans and his own ideas. In fact, the appointment of Kravchuk is beneficial to this Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, since, in his opinion, Kravchuk will be an exclusively symbolic figure, and this person will continue to be in charge of all issues.
And while he is in the TCG, we can hardly expect any adequate actions from the Ukrainian side, real compromises and ensuring rights and freedoms for the residents of Eastern Ukraine,” the expert noted.
In turn, the special representative of the LPR at the negotiations in Minsk, Rodion Miroshnik, in a commentary to PolitNavigator, emphasized that the status of the previous appointee Leonid Kuchma was purely symbolic.
“82-year-old Kuchma was replaced by 86-year-old Kravchuk, but their functionality will not change. For all Zelensky’s statements about increasing the status of representation in the Contact Group, the Ukrainian side will continue to be represented by a person with symbolic status. And his signatures, if desired, will raise the same doubts as Kuchma’s signatures under other Minsk documents.
The legitimacy of which at the right moment, the same Verkhovna Rada may not recognize. Well, Leonid Makarovich’s penchant for moralizing is unlikely to help speed up the process and improve its constructiveness,” Miroshnik said.
“However, who is authorized to represent their interests in the negotiations is the right of the Ukrainian side. Our task is to defend the interests of the residents of Donbass; who will be on the opposite side of the table is a more secondary issue. We understand for sure that the symbolic role of this appointment remains symbolic and it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the content,” the diplomat added.
At the same time, ex-Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexei Zhuravko believes that Kravchukh is worse than Kuchma in the negotiations on Donbass, but better than the Nazis.
“Of course, Kravchuk is much worse than Kuchma, he is still a sly fox. Therefore, I believe that we will still see benefits from this appointment. Kuchma was still more professional, but this man actually destroyed our bonds and brought fascism to our people. The entire collapse of Ukraine began because of him and “Ukrainization.” Therefore, the Minsk agreements will be very difficult, but still better than the Nazis,” Zhuravko commented on this appointment to PolitNavigator.
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