Yevgeny Magda
Both in Berlin
and Kyiv, various officials from the German government discussed the issue of
Donbas settlement with their Ukrainian colleagues. The Ukrainian Cabinet crisis
triggered prompt reaction of the G-7 countries. The Crimean issue
remains in a scope of attention of the European Parliament and the
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
The meeting of
Angela Merkel and Petro Poroshenko in Berlin has brought encouraging results
for the official Kyiv: the German Chancellor assured that the anti-Russian
sanctions will remain in place until Minsk Agreements are fully implemented.
The Bundeskanzlerin sent a clear message to Vladimir Putin on this issue,
although the Kremlin has constantly defied international demands to implement
the plan of settlement in the east of Ukraine.
But this is only the tip of the
iceberg: Merkel and Poroshenko, as well as the delegation of the German
Bundestag in Kyiv, were talking about the need to adopt a law on the elections
in Donbas and constitutional amendments. Maneuvers with the regulations of the
Verkhovna Rada were only a tactical stunt, which was confirmed by almost every
episode of the Ukrainian-German dialogue.
But we
shouldn’t get upset with Berlin’s political position. The capital of the
Europe’s economic and political leader is used to see the agreements
implemented, so they expect a similar approach from Ukraine. However, it is
extremely difficult to count on reciprocity of Russia, which brings a conflict
to a deadlock. Actually, the current state of affairs I Donbas gives no reasons
for even cautious optimism.
Meanwhile, the
Ukrainian Cabinet crisis got into an international spotlight. G-7 ambassadors
have met with the president, prime minister and speaker of parliament in order
to be assured that the situation is still under control of Ukrainian
authorities. A Statement on the resignation by Minister of Economic Development
and Trade Aivaras Abromavicius was perceived by the G7 diplomatic corps as a
negative signal for Ukraine.
At the same time, IMF Managing Director Christine
Lagarde hinted that there may be difficulties regarding the allocation of the
next tranche of financial assistance for Ukraine. Objectively, the situation
illustrates a thesis vigorously promoted by Russian propaganda in the
international arena of Ukraine being a “failed state.” But this time, it’s the
Ukrainian political elites who are to be blamed. Their inability to put the
national interests above their own ones provokes the new rounds of crisis.
Meanwhile, the
European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the EU Council to link the
de-occupation of the Crimea with the lifting of sanctions against Russia. The
European Parliament is concerned about the human rights violations, as well as
of the rights of ethnic and sexual minorities in Crimea.
No surprise, the
Russian media were traditionally skeptical about the resolution. Ukraine’s
Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Ukraine is interested in establishing a
Geneva Plus format of talks on de-occupation of Crimea, with Ukraine, Russia,
the U.S., EU, representatives of Turkey and international organizations as
participants. Kyiv needs to take more advantage of the ongoing conflict between
Moscow and Ankara. A diplomatic standoff between Putin and Erdogan continues,
as the latter has publicly linked the increase in the number of refugees from
Syria with intensified Russian bombing.
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