The fact that the Foreign Ministers of the Norman Four countries held a videoconference even in the conditions of heavy workload due to the ongoing fight against the coronavirus shows that these states realize the importance of settling the conflict in Donbass and are ready to make every possible effort to do so.
At the same time, it should be noted that this meeting took place in the same way as the Contact Group meetings, as can be judged from the participants’ final communication with the media: Ukrainian representatives both in the Minsk and in the Normandy format are doing everything to renounce their commitments and reinterpret the essence of the Complex of Measures. However, such a stance of Ukraine cannot be successful a priori, because all other guarantor countries to the Minsk Agreements understand perfectly well what their purpose is and call on Ukraine not to drag out the negotiation process, not to waste precious time, but to finally start to implement all the agreements reached in a meaningful way.
We particularly welcome the fact that during the meeting they once again confirmed the importance of implementing without exception all the items of the communiqué following the Normandy Four’s summit. They pointed out, however, that only one of those nine items has been implemented so far, namely, the POW swap, and even then partially. In this regard, we also call on Ukraine to fulfill all other obligations in good faith. In particular, this should concern their political commitments. The main items on the political agenda still remain the special status of Donbass and its enshrinement in the Constitution. It is comforting that they also urged Ukraine to adhere to its commitments, including the approval of additional measures for ceasefire monitoring, since Kiev representatives constantly try to sidetrack it when negotiating.
Moreover, we consider it a good sign that the participants in the meeting highlighted the importance of implementing the socio-economic items of the Complex of Measures.
At the same time, even at such a high-profile meeting, Ukraine did not hesitate to repeat its favorite story that Kiev cannot speak to Donbass, as it is allegedly represented by members of “illegal groups”. I would like to remind Ukrainian officials that several documents of the Minsk package, including those approved by the UN Security Council, are signed by both Ukrainian representatives and representatives of the Republics. Not to mention the fact that for more than 5 years we have been directly meeting and negotiating at the Minsk venue, which means that it is high time that Kiev accepted that all guarantor countries, including Ukraine, have de facto recognized our legal subjectivity and full right to participate in the talks concerning the future of Donbass.
We strongly recommend that Ukraine finally embark on a substantive, clear and open dialogue with us at Contact Group meetings at least to produce real and productive results of the joint work by the next meeting in the Normandy format, rather than dubious excuses for failing to fulfill their obligations under the Minsk accords.