Alexei Nikolsky, Petr Kozlov
Vedomosti, August 24, 2016, p. 3
Leaders of Russia, France and Germany may meet at the margin of the summit in China in September to discuss Ukrainian affairs.
CHANCES FOR A MEETING FOR REGULATION IN DONETS BASIN HAVE GROWN BUT THERE IS ALMOST NOTHING TO DISCUSS THERE
A telephone conversation of President of Russia Vladimir Putin, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and President of France Francois Hollander dedicated to the situation in Ukraine took place on Tuesday. According to the site of the Kremlin, the parties discussed “prospects for continuation of the Minsk process on the basis of synchronization of political steps and relevant measures in the field of security. Putin also reported to the colleagues about “gross provocation of the Ukrainian party that sent a group of saboteurs to the territory of Russia for organization of terrorist acts at the beginning of August.” Earlier, the Russian President announced that such actions made the meeting of leaders in the Normandy format (Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany) that could take place during the G20 summit in China between September 4 and 5 pointless. Before the incident in Crimea, representatives of Russia said that such meeting would make sense only if it would be possible to adopt certain resolutions at it. Nonetheless, site of the Kremlin said that “leaders of the three countries agreed to continue personal contacts about the Ukrainian topic, for example, to organize a joint meeting at the margin of the summit in China between September 4 and 5.”
According to the version of the site of the President of France, during the conversation with Putin and Merkel Hollande expressed concern about the tensed situation in Donets Basin and expressed a hope that conditions would be created quickly for a meeting of all four leaders of the countries involved into the Normandy format. No reports about the conversation with Putin and Hollande were published at the site of Merkel by the moment of signing of the newspaper issue for printing. Mentioning of Ukraine is absent at the official summit of the G20 summit, there is no information about invitation of Ukrainian President Petr Poroshenko to China on these days at the site of the Ukrainian leader too. Poroshenko was not invited to the previous G20 summit in Turkey in 2015.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Ambassador of Ukraine in Germany Andre Melnik announced that a draft document on separation of forces along the contact line in Donets Basin was already prepared in the framework of the Normandy format. The OSCE mission frequently registered presence of heavy military hardware near the separation line that should not be there according to the Minsk agreements lately. Mutual bombardments continue daily too.
If Poroshenko takes steps that demonstrate that he is inclined to implementation of the Minsk agreements and Ukrainian party does not organize provocations, then it will be possible to discuss if it will be able to participate in the meeting in China or not, political analyst Alexei Chesnakov close to the Kremlin aid. He added, “But so far, reality is such that there will be a meeting of three parties, there participants should discuss how to return Ukraine to the constructive course.” Chesnakov also adds that conditions on which removal of the hardware will be done are to be discussed on August 26 in Mink by participants of the trilateral contact group.
