The leaders of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, cannot yet reach agreement on a number of issues. This was stated by the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov, reports RIA Novosti.
On the air of the program "Big Game" on Channel One, Peskov noted that the leaders began a dialogue, but use "different terminology." He also recalled that the presidents managed to talk face to face during the Norman summit in Paris.
“I think that they talked about 10-15 minutes face to face, which is not so short. Then they were interrupted by President Macron, who insisted on continuing work in the Norman format, ”said Peskov.
At the same time, earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said that the negotiators in Paris spoke in raised voices. Rudenko expressed the opinion that the discussion on the Minsk agreements was quite frank, sometimes heated. According to him, the parties came to the negotiations, having completely different views on the solution of the problem.
“As I was told, indeed, the conversation was in high tones, and for some time there were even ideas to seriously revise the document that was agreed in September (draft final communiqué. - RT ), but the firmness of our leader prevented all this,” - noted the deputy minister.
In turn, Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the words of Rudenko, noted that there were indeed attempts to switch to elevated tones, but the conversation was working in nature.
He also confirmed that the Ukrainian side was trying to edit the text of the final communiqué,
He noted that he considers the main achievement of the Paris summit to be confirmation by all parties of their commitment to the Minsk agreements. Peskov also expressed hope that the next meeting in the Norman format could be even more productive.
Recall that on December 9 in the capital of France, negotiations were held in the Norman format, which was attended by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. Following the meeting, the parties adopted a joint statement to resolve the conflict in the Donbass. The communiqué speaks of the need to achieve a complete ceasefire before the end of 2019, to carry out the withdrawal of weapons, and to exchange held persons in the format of "all for all."
As emphasized in the document, participants in the Norman format are interested in agreeing on the details of the law on the special status of Donbass, which Kiev should adopt, within the framework of both the "Norman Four" and the tripartite contact group, which includes the DPR and LPR.
In addition, the communique speaks of the need to implement the Steinmeier formula in Ukrainian law.
Leaders plan to hold the next summit at the highest level in four months.
In addition to the main negotiations, several bilateral meetings took place on the sidelines of the summit, including Putin and Zelensky. The presidents talked for about an hour and a half and discussed a number of issues, in particular regarding the transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukraine.
Peskov noted that difficulties in resolving the gas issue remain, since some of Kiev’s positions are unacceptable to Moscow. A spokesman for the Russian president also emphasized that preserving the transit of fuel through Ukraine "is possible only if the conditions of economic and commercial feasibility are maintained for our supplier, that is, Gazprom.
- Soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk region, Ukraine
- Reuters
- © Oleksandr Klymenko
A spokesman for Vladimir Putin also commented on the statement by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Priestayko that Kiev could return to the idea of bringing UN peacekeeping forces into areas beyond its control in Donbass. Peskov, answering the question of how Moscow relates to such an initiative, noted that the Ukrainian authorities did not come up with specific proposals.
“So far, formally, no new initiatives have been voiced,” Peskov said.
Pristayko previously explained that Kiev will consider such a scenario if the measures prescribed in the Minsk agreements fail.
He added that Vladimir Zelensky has a number of ideas on this issue. At the same time, Priestayko noted that the Ukrainian side was not satisfied with the offer of Moscow to place peacekeepers only along the line of contact.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky wanted to discuss the introduction of peacekeeping forces into the Donbass during the Norman summit, but this topic was not discussed at the talks. At the same time, the Ukrainian leader himself said earlier that he supported the deployment of the UN contingent on the border with Russia.
In September 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed placing UN peacekeepers on the contact line of Ukraine and the unrecognized Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics. The US State Department and the Ukrainian authorities have called for the deployment of UN forces throughout the Donbass, including on the border with Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke out that Moscow was ready to discuss the entry of peacekeepers into the Donbass only in the context of the Minsk agreements.