{"id":163031,"date":"2022-02-11T22:34:52","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T20:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=163031"},"modified":"2022-02-11T22:34:56","modified_gmt":"2022-02-11T20:34:56","slug":"normandy-four-meets-in-berlin-ukraine-benefits-as-advisors-fail-to-agree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/normandy-four-meets-in-berlin-ukraine-benefits-as-advisors-fail-to-agree","title":{"rendered":"Normandy Four meets in Berlin: Ukraine benefits as advisors fail to agree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>On February 10, advisors to leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia, a grouping known as the Normandy Four, met in Berlin. The meeting comes as the West continues to explore diplomatic avenues amid growing fears of an escalation by Russia. This past week, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Kyiv and Moscow. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Kyiv and Moscow early next week. The Normandy format is part of diplomatic efforts to address Russia\u2019s military buildup on Ukraine\u2019s border. Earlier this year, advisors to the Normandy Quad leaders met in Paris.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s on Ukraine\u2019s agenda at Berlin talks.<\/strong>&nbsp;Ukraine hoped to reinstate the work of the Trilateral Contact Group. Its suggestions included improving verification of the ceasefire in Donbas, reopening of control points on the contact line, and swapping prisoners.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ahead of the Berlin meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said he hopes that a summit of the Normandy Four leaders would follow the talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Talks end with no final statement.<\/strong>&nbsp;The advisors to the leaders of the Normandy Four held nine-hour talks that ended with no joint statement, the Ukrainian President\u2019s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said at a news conference.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have not adopted a joint statement today. The talks lasted for almost nine hours. We would like to have a final joint declaration at the next meeting of the Normandy Four, but that\u2019s what we have today,\u201d Yermak is quoted as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He did not give details of the next meeting. The sides recognized the importance of the ceasefire in Donbas, the Head of the President\u2019s Office said.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ukraine consistently emphasizes political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, Yermak said. \u201cUkraine will continue to seek opportunities for talks to advance the peace process,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Yermak urges security guarantees for Ukraine.<\/strong>&nbsp;Yermak urged security guarantees for Ukraine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe urge all efforts before, not after a possible escalation. Ukraine needs security guarantees today. European security is threatened by a war in the center of Europe. Ukraine needs real and efficient security guarantees. That\u2019s in the interest of all our European partners,\u201d Yermak said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nord Stream 2 is part of energy security, Yermak says.<\/strong>&nbsp;At the news conference, Yermak mentioned Nord Stream 2, the upcoming visit of German Chancellor Scholz to Ukraine, and Scholz\u2019s meeting with U.S. President Biden. \u201cEnergy security of Ukraine is part of joint security. Nord Stream 2 is part of energy security. Ukraine needs guarantees. We are confident that our partners will respect the commitments, and Ukraine will get security and economic guarantees,\u201d he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ukraine unwilling to compromise, Russia\u2019s envoy says.<\/strong>&nbsp;The nine-hour talks ended with no result due to Ukraine\u2019s lack of will to compromise, said Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of the administration of the Russian President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlmost nine-hour talks ended with no tangible result, no agreement. (\u2026) We did not bridge the differences. With Germany and France, we have a common understanding of progress in the political section, but Ukraine\u2019s position is adamant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUkraine refused to include a passage in the draft statement citing the Minsk agreements that it needs to consult with representatives of the defined areas (of Donbas) over the post-conflict status of the territories. That\u2019s the major disagreement that Ukraine rejected,\u201d Kozak said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sides were determined to overcome disagreements in interpretation of the Minsk agreements, and \u201csearched for a compromise in the phrasing\u201d of the final statement, Kozak said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe suggested to put those quotes in quotation marks in the final statement, but Ukraine rejected the offer. That\u2019s why the talks stretched on,\u201d Kozak said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the talks ended in a \u201cstalemate\u201d, \u201cit all depends on Kyiv,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Germany and France refuse to pressure Ukraine, Kozak says.<\/strong>&nbsp;Germany and France showed no determination to \u201cpressure Kyiv,\u201d Kozak said. Instead, they \u201ctried to find a convenient position for Ukraine to carry on with the line it has followed in the past eight years,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Russia, Germany, and France will \u201cmonitor Ukraine\u2019s actions\u201d in the Normandy format through the Trilateral Contact Group, the Kremlin\u2019s envoy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Kremlin tries to pressure Ukraine for direct talks with the militants it backs in Donbas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI urged the Ukrainian side to present their suggestions on the future status of Donbas or react to the proposals by calling an extraordinary meeting of the Contact Group, if they decide to implement the Minsk agreements. The next meeting will be in three weeks. Ukraine took a pause for thought,\u201d Kozak said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why lack of progress is not a bad sign<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lack of progress in the Normandy format shows that Ukraine remains consistent and resolute in its position that implementation of the Minsk Protocol needs to start from the beginning, with the security section. Ukraine rejects Russia\u2019s attempts to start with the political part that includes elections. \u201cFor years, the Minsk agreements have been a framework for future settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine,\u201d says Maria Kucherenko, analyst at the Center for Civil Society Studies in a column for Radio Liberty. \u201cThat\u2019s the only document that Ukraine and the sides that mediate in the Normandy and Minsk format have to engage Russia in the peace talks. Does that mean that the sides can let Russia twist the document in exchange for its participation in the talks? After years of vain efforts to make Russia comply with the first three articles of Minsk, the answer is obviously \u2018no\u2019,\u201d the analyst says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past eight years, a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire was not achieved. Russia-backed militants place materiel outside of designated areas, OSCE has been reporting. Russia\u2019s proxies use weapons banned under the Minsk agreements, Ukraine\u2019s Joint Forces command says in daily reports.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are serious obstacles facing the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in monitoring how the first clauses of the Minsk agreements are implemented.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Russia has issued up to 800,000 passports to residents of the occupied areas. That is a stark change from 2015 when the Minsk Protocol was signed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Starting preparations for local elections foreseen by the article 4 is not possible as long as the first three sections of the Minsk agreements are not implemented.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPressuring Ukraine to make political concessions is neither a peace settlement, nor a dialogue. That would demonstrate impotence of the West in the face of Russia\u2019s brute force.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPressure on Ukraine to implement the political section of the Minsk agreements the way Russia wants it, would lead to nothing but a political crisis,\u201d Maria Kucherenko says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On February 10, advisors to leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia, a grouping known as the Normandy Four, met in Berlin. The meeting comes as the West continues to explore diplomatic avenues amid growing fears of an escalation by Russia. This past week, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Kyiv and Moscow. German Chancellor Olaf [&hellip;] <a class=\"g1-link g1-link-more\" href=\"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/normandy-four-meets-in-berlin-ukraine-benefits-as-advisors-fail-to-agree\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":163038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[700,699,611],"tags":[],"section":[743,648],"form":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Normandy Four meets in Berlin: Ukraine benefits as advisors fail to agree | UACRISIS.ORG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On February 10, advisors to leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine, and Russia, a grouping known as the Normandy Four, met in Berlin. 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