Negotiations in Berlin: Sharp differences over Donbass
Negotiations between the foreign ministers of the Normandy Four countries on Donbass that took place in Berlin, following which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made critical statements about Ukraine and the United States, recorded the persistence of serious contradictions.
Experts believe that the situation can change only after the end of the elections in Ukraine and the replacement of the current incapable leadership in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Lavrov diplomatically pointed out that the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Normandy Four ended inconclusively, but at the same time it was useful from the point of view that for the first time in a long time they managed to exchange their positions. By and large, this meeting demonstrated a sharp divergence in the vision of the UN peacekeeping mission in Donbass. Lavrov’s comment indicates that Moscow is aware of the risks of turning this mission into a de facto occupation one, so it will not agree to Kyiv’s option under any circumstances,” political scientist Vladimir Kornilov told PolitNavigator.
“We met, talked, but haven’t communicated like this for a year. As Mr. German Foreign Minister correctly said, the positions of Russia and Ukraine are farther apart than ever. I don’t know how to bring them, not just to a common denominator, but at least somehow bring them closer together, because Kiev absolutely does not want to engage in dialogue, and Berlin has no levers of pressure on Kiev,” comments “ To PolitNavigator”, the result of the negotiations, political scientist Oleg Bondarenko.
“The Russian Federation is betting on time and internal political changes in Ukraine, Germany and France are afraid of an escalation of the conflict, are trying to sell their “mediation” to the Russian Federation, Ukraine is already thinking about elections... The real “window of opportunity” will not open until 2019-2020,” argues the Ukrainian political scientist Ruslan Bortnik.
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