Washington on the eve of the summit of the "Norman Four" will continue to exert pressure on Russia. This is stated in a statement by US State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus posted on the website of the US Foreign Ministry.

“The United States is determined to continue, together with its allies and partners, to exert pressure on Russia to fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreements and begin the peace process of restoring Ukraine’s full sovereignty over the Donbass. This will be the first step towards the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders, including its territorial waters, ”the statement reads.

The State Department’s statement also notes that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky “is taking reasonable, but difficult steps towards reform and peace.”

“The United States appreciates Ukraine’s adoption of the reforms necessary to ensure its security and prosperity in the long run,” the statement said.

Recall that the first meeting in the "Norman format" for the last three years will be held on December 9 in Paris. November 27, Vladimir Zelensky noted that the Ukrainian side is committed to any negotiations within its framework, including the holding of multilateral and bilateral meetings of leaders.

According to Bohdan Bezpalko, an expert of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation, in an interview with RT, Washington wants to recall with such statements that the United States has a significant influence on the policies of the Ukrainian leadership, although they do not formally participate in the Norman format.

The expert added that the United States is trying to shift the responsibility for non-compliance with the Minsk agreements to Russia, despite the fact that they have not been implemented by Ukraine for a long time.

“The State Department wants to blame the implementation of the Minsk agreements on Russia, because otherwise it would have to be blamed on Ukraine. Objectively, the fault lies with Ukraine, because it does not comply with the Minsk agreements, even in the form of the Steinmeier formula. So far, all that has been achieved is the exchange of retained persons and the separation of the parties in Petrovsky and Zolotoy, while skirmishes still occur along the rest of the front line, there are fights of low intensity. If you understand it objectively, then you would have to exert pressure on Ukraine, but this is not beneficial for the United States, ”the expert said.

Norman format

The Norman format of negotiations on Ukraine was created in June 2014. Then, during events dedicated to the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany held talks to resolve the conflict in the Donbass. After this meeting and telephone conversations were held at the level of both the heads of state of the Quartet and the foreign ministers of the participating countries.

  • Negotiations in the "Norman format"
  • kremlin.ru

Since 2015, almost all of the four meetings have been devoted to the implementation of the Minsk agreements. However, soon the Ukrainian authorities actually froze their implementation, which made holding new meetings pointless. The last meeting of the heads of state of the "Norman Four" in full force took place in October 2016 in Germany.

Moscow has repeatedly pointed out that the implementation of the Minsk agreements is the only way to resolve the conflict in the east of Ukraine, and also drew the attention of the participants in the dialogue to the fact that the implementation of the agreements was sabotaged by Kiev.

It is worth noting that representatives of the Kiev authorities announced the need for the United States to join the Norman format in 2015. One of the first to announce this proposal was Valery Chaly, who at that time held the post of deputy head of the presidential administration of Ukraine.

In May 2017, Petro Poroshenko said that negotiations in the Norman format were always coordinated by Kiev with the United States.

“I emphasize that they were and will be involved. All the time, including during the work of the previous administration, the names changed, but there was a corresponding diplomat at the rank of ambassador who was fully informed about the whole content of the negotiations in the Norman format, and they were coordinated with our American colleagues, ”said Poroshenko.

According to him, this is due to the fact that the United States is a "strategic partner" of Ukraine.

Fifth extra

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky made controversial statements about US participation in the negotiations of the Norman Four. In July 2019, in a public video message, he invited Vladimir Putin to hold talks with the leaders of the Norman Four countries and the heads of the United Kingdom and the United States.

Donald Trump spoke about the willingness to take part in the Norman-format negotiations.

“I believe that the exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia was a very big step, and this is a very positive step. If they need me to turn on, I will turn on, ”Trump said on September 9 during a conversation with reporters at the White House.

However, on September 26, Zelensky noted that he did not invite Trump to join the four summit.

“For the first time personally (addressed. - RT ), not by telephone, to President Trump, so that he would join in the solution of all our problems, to end the war and return our territories. But not so that now, when we are waiting for the meeting in the Norman format, so that he joins, ”UNIAN points out Zelensky.

  • President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky
  • AFP
  • © SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

At the same time, the President of Ukraine added that if "the summit will not work, will not move, yes, we will attract, and not only America."

Over the past years, Russia has repeatedly noted that it does not see the need for US participation in the summit. On October 8, this position was once again confirmed by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.

“From the general point of view of the participants in this format, there is currently no alternative to it. And questions of the implementation of the Minsk agreements are just being discussed in the Norman format. The point of view about ... connecting the USA to this format does not find support, ”Peskov said.

Earlier, a similar opinion was expressed by the representative of the French Foreign Ministry. Answering a question about the possibility of the United States joining the negotiations on the Donbass, he said that "changing the Norman format is not on the agenda."

At the same time, a spokesman for the president of the Russian Federation added that Washington could use its influence on Kiev to facilitate the speedy fulfillment by Ukraine of its obligations under the Minsk agreements.

Small coin

With the help of new statements, Washington is trying to “confirm its role as a controller” of the Ukrainian position in the negotiations of the “Norman Four,” HSE professor Dmitry Evstafiev explained in an interview with RT.

“The United States, not being a member of the Norman Four, thus wants to fix its role as the main political sponsor and source of political support for Ukraine and personally for Zelensky,” said the expert.

Dmitry Yevstafyev added that one should not have expected a change in the US course in Ukraine, especially considering that the Ukrainian issue has become a bargaining chip in domestic political clashes in the American political establishment.

“Both under the administration of Barack Obama and under Donald Trump, the USA adheres to the line that Russia carries out some kind of aggression against a small but rather sovereign Ukraine, and Moscow is allegedly the main culprit of the civil war in the Donbass. Washington now cannot recognize that there is a civil war in Ukraine provoked by an illegal coup in Kiev, behind which stood the White House. This means a confession of guilt, which will exacerbate a serious domestic political crisis in the United States, ”the political scientist explained.

The expert also believes that this statement by the US State Department is beneficial for Zelensky, as he is forced to seek support from Washington against the background of his sagging rating.

“The leader of Ukraine is catastrophically losing support within the country, and the only thing he can balance on is attracting Americans to his politics. If he loses this, I think his fate will be unenviable, ”concluded Dmitry Evstafiev.