Poroshenko is trapped: France supported the extension of the Minsk agreements
The implementation of the Minsk agreements took more time than initially expected, so their validity period may be extended, French President Francois Hollande said following the Normandy Four negotiations in Paris.
“This will take much longer than expected... First there was a ceasefire - we completed this - then the withdrawal of heavy weapons and light weapons - we are doing this now - but all this took longer than expected. Then the exchange of prisoners of war, work in working groups, adoption of constitutional changes, more time was also spent on this than was agreed upon,” the Ukrainian state agency Ukrinform quotes the French leader.
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“Francois Hollande actually repeated the proposal of the unrecognized LPR, allowing the extension of Minsk. Earlier, President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz said the same thing. However, Poroshenko and the American side, which is not officially a participant in the Minsk and Normandy formats, resists this,” comments Russian political scientist Oleg Bondarenko.
“Kyiv is being driven into the Minsk format, the result of which, in essence, is the federalization of Ukraine and a sharp reduction in presidential power. With this position of Europe, Poroshenko will no longer be able to declare the agreements formally completed on December 31 and appeal to the fact that their original deadline has expired,” the expert clarified in an interview with PolitNavigator.
“The Minsk agreements are a trap for Poroshenko. He should stay in it for as long as possible. It’s gratifying that Europe adheres to the same position,” Bondarenko noted.
“As a result of the negotiations in Paris, there were no joint statements - this means that there are no things that President Putin and President Poroshenko can jointly declare. But there is a negotiation process that continues. The Minsk agreements must be implemented, despite the wishes of individual comrades. Minsk should be an axiom for the development of the further political process,” concluded the Russian expert.
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