PARIS, Dec 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Russian leader Vladimir Putin will for the
first time hold formal talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky
over the conflict in Ukraine’s east on Monday, in a much-anticipated summit
in Paris.
No comprehensive peace deal is expected from the afternoon meeting —
mediated by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel — but diplomats hope that the exercise will help to boost trust
between the two men.
Thousands have been killed and one million have fled their homes since
pro-Russia militias in eastern Ukraine launched a bid for independence in
2014 — kicking off a conflict that deepened Russia’s estrangement from the
West.
The separatists seized control of Donetsk and Lugansk regions shortly
after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula.
Diplomats have emphasised that the issue of Crimea — a seizure that gave
Putin a popularity boost but led to international sanctions being imposed —
is not on the table at the summit.
Kiev has made clear its determination to never give up the peninsula,
which the international community still regards as part of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has sent signals that it is ready to work with Zelensky, who
Putin has described as “likeable” and “sincere”.
But Putin also will not want to return empty-handed and will be pushing
for an easing of sanctions.
– ‘Problem of trust’ –
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the Funke newspaper group ahead of
the summit “we have to do everything we can… to make progress in the
Ukrainian peace process”, and described the conflict as “a festering wound in
Europe”.
Maas praised Zelensky for bringing “new momentum” to the talks, adding
that “to make progress with the next difficult steps, Russia needs to make a
move too”.
The goals of Monday’s meeting include agreeing to disband illegal
militias, the departure of foreign fighters from Donetsk and Lugansk and
Ukraine taking back control over its border with Russia, according to a
French presidential source.
“There remains the problem of trust between the parties. This needs to be
created before we can move forward,” said the source, who asked not to be
named.
Also key is agreeing a calendar for elections to be held in Donetsk and
Lugansk under Ukrainian law with the two regions enjoying special status —
an idea known as the Steinmeier Formula.
“If the summit meeting is to be meaningful, it should have a result, and
the result should very much be on the Steinmeier Formula,” said Gerhard
Mangott, professor of international relations at Austria’s Innsbruck
University.
“It remains to be seen whether Ukraine is willing to give up some of its
pre-conditions for implementing the Steinmeier Formula.”
– ‘Wound of war’ –
Monday’s meeting is the first such summit in three years and seeks to
implement accords signed in Minsk in 2015 that call for the withdrawal of
heavy weapons, the restoration of Kiev’s control over its borders, wider
autonomy, and the holding of local elections.
The French presidential source said it was not just Putin’s strategic
calculations that had impeded the implementation of the Minsk accords but
also the “difficulties in Ukraine due to public opinion, divisions and the
fundamental wound caused by the war.”
The summit is a hugely delicate event for everyone involved, but
particularly for Zelensky, who is under pressure not to cede ground to the
Kremlin.
For Macron, the summit is a centrepiece of an increasingly bold foreign
policy he is driving despite troubles at home, where transport workers have
been on strike for days in a dispute over pension reforms.
Macron, who shocked NATO allies this year by declaring the alliance brain
dead, has made clear his belief that Europe needs a strategic partnership
with Russia.