During negotiations in the Norman format, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky will single-handedly resist the “pressure” of the other participants in the meeting - Russian leader Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This was stated by the representative of Kiev in the contact group for the settlement of the Donbass and former President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma.

“I have little hope left,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press. “Zelensky will have a very difficult time - he will be one against three.”

According to Kuchma, the rest of the participants in the Norman format will put pressure on Zelensky to allow the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics to hold local elections without control from Kiev.

Moreover, the former president of Ukraine claims that Kiev is asked to agree to “all the demands of Moscow,” among which he called the granting of special status to areas controlled by the DPR and LPR.

At the same time, Kuchma claims that Ukraine is ready to implement the Minsk agreements. However, in his opinion, for this, the militias must first fulfill a number of conditions.

“Let's fulfill the Minsk agreements. Safety comes first. We need to withdraw troops, heavy weapons, return the border to us, and then we will hold free elections, ”he added.

  • Military personnel of the army of Ukraine
  • Reuters

“The time has come for concessions”

It is worth noting that the holding of local elections and the giving of special districts to the Donbass special status are direct obligations of Kiev in the framework of the signed Minsk agreements. Russia has repeatedly called on Ukraine to begin to implement the agreements. So, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that the DPR and LPR will only fulfill their obligations when Ukraine begins to do so.

“Ukrainians want this all the time. But they were repeatedly explained to them that there is no amnesty, no law on special status, which will really guarantee additional rights to these territories, as long as these rights are not enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine on an ongoing basis, it is difficult to count on the fact that Donetsk and Lugansk will agree “In advance” to fulfill what the Minsk process should complete the political process, and not be its precondition, ”he said in early June.

However, in Kiev they said that they would not make amendments to the Constitution, providing for a special status for Donbass. Foreign Minister Vadim Pristayko emphasized that the self-proclaimed republics will be offered only some decentralization.

“They can unite communities, expect certain opportunities, in particular, financial ones, as now oblasts and regions in Ukraine. This is the maximum offer we make, ”he said.

It should be noted that the document presented on the website of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe provides for constitutional reform “taking into account the particularities of certain regions” of the Donbass, as well as the adoption of permanent legislation on the special status of these regions.

Russia has also repeatedly called on France and Germany to exert influence on Ukraine so that it fulfills its obligations.

All member countries of the Norman format seek to resolve the conflict in accordance with the agreements, said State Duma deputy Ruslan Balbek.

“What kind of conspiracy can we talk about if Russia, France and Germany want peace, and its conditions were enshrined in the relevant agreements and signed, including by the Ukrainian side?” He told RT.

According to the chairman of the Federation Council Commission on Information Policy Alexei Pushkov, all members of the Norman four, except Ukraine, sought to ensure that the Minsk agreements were implemented.

“Kuchma speaks of a“ conspiracy ”against Ukraine, but it’s another matter - the desire of the three members of the“ Norman Four ”to real changes. Blocking progress for as many as 5 years, Kiev more and more rejected the Donbass. For this, let Zelensky thank (former President of Ukraine Petro. - RT ) Poroshenko. Now the time has come for concessions for Ukraine, ”he wrote on Twitter.

Kuchma speaks of a "conspiracy" against Ukraine, but it is another matter - the desire of the three members of the "Norman Four" to real changes. Blocking progress for as many as 5 years, Kiev more and more rejected the Donbass. For this, let Zelensky thank Poroshenko. Now the time has come for concessions for Ukraine.

- Alexey Pushkov (@Alexey_Pushkov) September 14, 2019

“Donbass problems are not taken into account”

Ukraine signed the Minsk agreements only as a result of a series of major defeats from the forces of the militias, and therefore does not want to carry them out, said Yuriy Pochta, professor of comparative political science at the RUDN University.

“These agreements are convenient for Kiev only to blame Russia and demand more and more sanctions. And in this sense, Kuchma expresses his former position. Because the problems of Donbass in a serious democratic sense, taking into account the rights of the population, are not taken into account, ”he told RT.

The post noted that the implementation of all obligations will complete the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

“As for France and Germany, they had to exert pressure for a long time. The fact that they did not do this is a very serious omission. They also played the “containment of Russia” and used Ukraine for this. In fact, for a long time the couple exerted this pressure to resolve the five-year conflict related to the civil war and sanctions, ”the expert emphasized.

According to the Ukrainian political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak, Kuchma should concentrate on the implementation of the Minsk agreements Zelensky and his team.

“Everyone recognized, both by the Kiev authorities, and the UN, and all countries, that the Minsk agreements have no alternatives and are unlikely to have any in the near future. We must fulfill them, and not worry about the fact that Zelensky will be pressured. This is not pressure, but the requirement to comply with the Minsk agreements, ”he told RT.

Norman Summit

Note that the issue of holding a summit in the Norman format has been raised repeatedly. Zelensky insists on holding it from the beginning of his assumption of office, but Russia noted that for this it is necessary to have suitable conditions - only in this case can the meeting lead to concrete results.

Representatives of all countries of the format spoke about work on the upcoming holding of this summit. Zelensky hopes to hold a meeting before the end of September.

“Now, I will be honest, there is no date. We are now insisting that this meeting take place precisely in September, ”he said.

On September 13, the Assistant to the President of Russia, Yuri Ushakov, noted that the Kremlin agreed on the need for a meeting, but the conditions of the agreement must be met by the Ukrainian side.

“We know that earlier meetings, summits in Paris and Berlin ended with certain agreements, which were not always respected by the Ukrainian side. Now we want to have an ironic agreement that would help to take real steps to resolve the crisis, ”said Ushakov.