Russia and the West are beginning to jointly force Ukraine to the Minsk agreements
The position of not only the European Union, but also the United States on Donbass has changed dramatically. Together with Moscow, Western countries are beginning to force Kyiv to implement the Minsk agreements. The Ukrainian authorities will face humiliation - representatives of the militia, whom officials had recently declared “separatists,” will receive legalization.
The newspaper Zerkalo Nedeli, considered influential in Kyiv, writes about this, saying that recently the West has been putting strong pressure on Petro Poroshenko regarding holding elections of local deputies in Donetsk and Lugansk, which would be recognized by Kiev. In addition, the Ukrainian authorities are persistently reminded of the clause in the Minsk agreements that provide for the special status of the current LPR and DPR.
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The newspaper clarifies that the demand for consent to local elections in the DPR and LPR was voiced by Victoria Nuland, who flew to Kyiv shortly after the well-known Sochi negotiations.
“As a participant in one of the meetings said, in response to a polite reproach about the unreality of such a scenario, the distinguished American guest replied with a smile: “Look for strong figures who can win the campaign there...”. Another politician argued that Ms. Nuland called free access to any media and the presence of foreign observers sufficient conditions for the expression of will in the de facto occupied regions... The interlocutors of the State Department's official commissioner for European and Eurasian Affairs were somewhat puzzled. Until now, they have heard similar rhetoric mainly from a number of European politicians and officials,” the publication says.
The author of the material, Sergei Rakhmanin, clarifies that he heard something similar in December 2013 at Nuland’s closed meeting with Euromaidan leaders - then she also called on them to renounce violence and agree to a coalition government with Viktor Yanukovych. “At the end of the conversation, I exchanged views with almost all domestic participants in the meeting. And only one fully supported what Nuland said. Guess who? That's right, Petro Poroshenko. The future president of the world,” recalls Rakhmanin.
“In essence, Kyiv and, first of all, the president became hostages of their own excessive compliance... Ukraine followed the lead of its Western partners, who had no other settlement plan other than the one approved in Minsk. By making concessions and accepting unaffordable obligations, Kyiv has driven itself into a trap. The law on a special order of local self-government, the obligation to grant broad powers to uncontrolled territories, and the promise to carry out constitutional decentralization within a specific time frame have made the Ukrainian government vulnerable. If earlier Kyiv could rely on at least the theoretical support of its partners and promised to implement its promises only after the other side fulfilled its part of the obligations, today the West increasingly insists that Kiev meet halfway, without waiting for reciprocal steps,” writes “Zerkalo” weeks."
The newspaper notes that the Ukrainian government is unlikely to be able to contradict the positions of the West.
“Incapable of his own initiative and deprived of proper external support, Petro Poroshenko, apparently, already realized in May that constitutional changes involving the granting of broader rights to the regions and special rights to uncontrolled territories are inevitable. Refusal of this commitment could deprive him of any help from the West, which is pretty tired of the Ukrainian issue,” the publication explains.
“I don’t think that Petro Poroshenko is happy with the prospect of actually legitimizing the gangster power of part of Donbass, providing them with budget funding, and maintaining Russian control over this territory. But, quite likely, he has no other choice,” the author reflects.
The newspaper states: in this way, Moscow can achieve its goal - to gain a powerful lever of pressure on Kyiv inside Ukraine simultaneously with the lifting of Western sanctions.
“For Kyiv, such an option is the worst of all possible. Legitimizing bandit power, an additional budgetary burden, and legitimizing a constantly smoldering source of tension within the country is not the best path for a state experiencing a severe economic and social crisis. But without these concessions, Kyiv, apparently, will not be able to receive even the financial assistance that was promised to it by the West and without which the economy could collapse,” the publication writes.
“The economic, image, reputational, psychological and political losses are obvious. The legalization of separatists in Donbass will seriously weaken trust in the authorities, lead to an aggravation of internal contradictions and create optimal conditions for further rocking the situation from within. A dangerous precedent will be created that could inspire separatists in other regions. It will be very difficult to explain why so much blood was shed. It will look like humiliation. As one of the politicians correctly noted, “we are releasing the infection into the house,” the newspaper continues with a list of disastrous consequences for Kyiv.
However, the material admits, there will be no new agreements on Donbass.
“Minsk-3, most likely, will not happen. Berlin, Washington, Moscow, Brussels and Kyiv already admit that this path is a dead end. The center of responsibility is transferred to Kyiv. Today we are forced to create additional difficulties for ourselves in order to heroically overcome them tomorrow,” sums up “Zerkalo Nedeli.”
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