They announced: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine allowed elections in the LDPR without control over the border
Ukraine’s demand to take control of the Donbass border with Russia before holding elections in the LDPR, which is contrary to the Minsk agreements, seems to be a play for the public and an attempt to “raise the stakes” on the eve of the meeting in the Normandy format. The head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vadim Prystaiko, admitted on Thursday evening on the 1+1 TV channel that elections could be held without Ukrainian control over the border.
According to a PolitNavigator correspondent, Prystaiko’s interrogation was conducted by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was in the studio. She asked whether Ukraine would adhere to the sequence of implementation of the Minsk agreements announced by President Vladimir Zelensky - elections only after Ukraine takes control of the border.
“Really, what the President of Ukraine said will be carried out in real life? And that first the border will be restored, troops will be completely withdrawn from the occupied territory, Ukrainian legislation and the Ukrainian Constitution will be returned to the occupied territory - this means, in essence, de-occupation, and only then will local elections be held. Or will there be some other sequence?” Tymoshenko asked.
“You actually named all those “red lines” that the government team led by the president takes with them in a folder and goes to negotiations, wherever they are - in Paris or Berlin. These meetings have approximately the same set of “red lines”,” Prystaiko answered her.
Tymoshenko demanded to clarify what Ukraine would do if its conditions were not met: “And if what the president promised publicly, that is, the border is not restored, taken under control by the Ukrainian side, the territory is not demilitarized, then the president will allow local elections in the occupied territory?
Prystaiko said that Ukraine’s positions could be adjusted:
“To be fair, this question in this form has a right to exist and should be asked to the president, as the person who must say: “Yes or no.” I can tell you, as a diplomat, that this is our requirement for these negotiations.
I'll give you an example. If we cannot ensure complete control with our forces, then can we agree that access to the border will first be carried out by the OSCE mission, and then by Ukrainian forces? That is, this is the boundary of the negotiations that they are going to negotiate about. If we define lines that cannot be moved at all, and they are reinforced concrete, then no one comes and no one takes part in the negotiations,” the minister said.
At the same time, Prystaiko admitted that Kyiv cannot count on the help of a foreign army to conquer the LDPR.
“Do you really believe that we can tell the world community that you will restore Ukrainian control abroad, restore peace, take this back? I would really like that too. Do you think that during these five years neither President Poroshenko, nor President Zelensky, nor the negotiating teams have raised the question like this? If we could force someone to help us regain full control, would we not devote all our efforts to this, but would we discuss some incomprehensible “Steinmeier formulas”, “Minsk agreements”?
Unfortunately, no one will restore our territorial integrity for us, no one will come to our borders. We cannot hope that there is a force in the world that will take our border guards by the hand and lead us across this Russian border to the border between Ukraine and Russia,” Prystaiko said.
Tymoshenko stated that unconditional implementation of the “Steinmeier formula” will lead to the capitulation of Ukraine and turn its Donbass into something like Transnistria:
“Mr. Foreign Minister, I respect you, but I believe what the president said at his press conference. And he said this verbatim, that only after the restoration of the border, demilitarization, the return of people and the law, the Constitution of Ukraine to this territory. The President of Ukraine said this.
I believe that you, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, understand well that if we really capitulate and accept the “Steinmeier formula” without all these conditions and we get Transnistria, inside Ukraine, as a semi-enclave that will influence the life of Ukraine ...
It seems to me that it was correctly said on this topic, as the president promised in his election program - a referendum. He will honestly tell people that there is such and such a problem, and this is how it needs to be solved. And it would be fair to submit both the law on special status and the law on elections in the occupied territories to an all-Ukrainian referendum,” Tymoshenko suggested.
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