Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy opposed the idea of ​​transferring the Donbas negotiating platform from the Belarusian capital to another location. As the politician noted, now, due to the coronavirus pandemic, all negotiations are still taking place online, so the change of the negotiating platform will not affect anything.

“It only depends on the people involved in the tripartite contact group. Therefore, I believe that it is very early to talk about changing the city. I believe that it seems to me that this is wrong, especially now to do it, ”Zelensky said in an interview with the Ukraine 24 TV channel.

Let us remind you that earlier the transfer of the platform for negotiations from Minsk was made by the head of the Kiev delegation to the contact group in Minsk Leonid Kravchuk. The ex-president of Ukraine named Sweden as a possible place for negotiations.

“Belarus does not take part in the trilateral group. If suddenly there is no such opportunity to hold meetings there, then we will look for another place. At first, there were no Minsk agreements. First there was Geneva. You can take a completely neutral state, the same Sweden. We can ask them. It is possible, "- said Kravchuk in an interview with" Ukrainian Radio ".

  • Vladimir Zelensky
  • Reuters
  • © Sergey Dolzhenko / Pool

These words sounded against the backdrop of mass protests that have been going on in Belarus since August 9, the day of the presidential election.

However, according to experts, there is no need to talk about the transfer of the negotiating platform now.

“The Ukrainian side cannot postpone negotiations on Donbass from Minsk. This must be coordinated with the participants in the Normandy format. The capital of Belarus was chosen for negotiations for the reason that the Russian and Belarusian sides can guarantee the security of Donbass, "Rostislav Ishchenko, head of the Center for Systems Analysis and Forecasting, recalled in an interview with RT.

Election question

In addition to discussing the place of negotiations at the level of contact groups, Zelensky also touched on the topic of negotiations on Donbass in the Normandy format. The politician said thatthe meeting of the advisers to the heads of the countries participating in the talks is scheduled for 28 August. The parties will discuss the settlement of the situation in Donbass, after which a summit is to be held at the level of the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.

“We agreed on a meeting of advisers in the Normandy format, agreed on the end of August - this meeting will be on the 28th. Then, I think, there should still be a meeting of the foreign ministers of the quartet and then a meeting of the leaders, ”Zelensky said.

  • Normandy Four Summit in Paris in December 2019
  • RIA News
  • © Alexey Nikolsky

The fact that the advisers to the heads of state of the Normandy Four will prepare the summit of presidents at a meeting in Paris was previously reported by Leonid Kravchuk.

Recall that the last summit of the leaders of the "Normandy Four" was held in December in the French capital. Following the negotiations, the summit participants adopted a joint statement on the settlement of the conflict in Donbass. The leaders reaffirmed the need for a complete ceasefire by the end of 2019, as well as an all-for-all exchange of detainees.

In the final communique, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany also touched upon the issues of a political settlement of the Donbas conflict. The document said that all the participants in the summit are interested in agreeing on the details of the law on the special status of Donbass, which should be adopted by the Ukrainian authorities in accordance with the Minsk agreements.

The parties also agreed on the need to implement the Steinmeier formula into Ukrainian legislation.

Recall that under the terms of the Minsk agreements, on the first day after the withdrawal of weapons from the line of contact, the parties must begin a dialogue on the conditions for holding local elections in Donbass in accordance with Ukrainian legislation and the law of Ukraine "On the temporary procedure for local self-government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions." In turn, within 30 days from the date of the conclusion of these agreements, the Rada must adopt a resolution indicating the territory to which the special regime will apply.

At the same time, according to the law on the special status of Donbass , proposed in 2015 by Frank-Walter Steinmeier (the diplomat held the post of Foreign Minister of Germany at that time - RT ), the law on the special status of Donbass should enter into force on a permanent basis after the OSCE / ODIHR confirms the legitimacy of the vote. 

According to experts, Kiev is quite easy to take steps to establish military ceasefires on the line of contact, but consistently sabotages measures of political settlement.

So, in July, the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) to resolve the situation in eastern Ukraine took additional measures to monitor compliance with the ceasefire in Donbass. In addition, the negotiators agreed on 13 demining sites.

The parties also managed to agree on a comprehensive ceasefire, which took effect on 27 July. The regime provides for a complete ban on the use of any types of weapons, including drones, as well as offensive and reconnaissance operations. 

In addition, on August 20, the TCG agreed on four new areas for the disengagement of the armed forces in the Donbass. These measures are being taken within the framework of the plan provided for in the communiqué of the Normandy Four summit, adopted in December 2019.

However, on the political plane, things are different.

  • Leonid Kravchuk
  • RIA News
  • © Stringer

In mid-June, the Rada adopted a resolution according to which local elections should be held in Ukraine on October 25 this year. At the same time, the document does not provide for voting on the territory of certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

As noted by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, commenting on this step of the Ukrainian authorities, the Rada's decision can be interpreted as Kiev's withdrawal from the Minsk agreements. The Russian foreign policy statement demanded an explanation from the Ukrainian side.

Subsequently, Leonid Kravchuk promised to apply in writing to the Ukrainian parliament on the issue of inconsistency of the resolution adopted by the Rada with the Minsk agreements. Boris Gryzlov, the plenipotentiary of Russia in the contact group, told the journalists about this.

Political sabotage

However, experts doubt that Kiev is really ready for a political settlement of the conflict in Donbass.

“Ukraine is not going to bring the government decree on local elections in line with the Minsk agreements. If the Ukrainian authorities do this, they will face internal political protests, ”Ishchenko said.

  • Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donbass
  • Reuters
  • © Gleb Garanich

In his opinion, the ceasefire regime can be called a positive factor, but still an insufficient basis for holding a new summit in the Normandy format.

“The Ukrainian side is stubbornly sabotaging a political settlement. And all the parties involved in the Normandy process understand that there will be no sense from a new meeting in such conditions, ”Ischenko is sure.

Andrei Suzdaltsev, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the Higher School of Economics, shares a similar point of view. He believes that Kiev will not hold elections in the territory of Donbass in accordance with the Minsk agreements, since in reality the Ukrainian authorities are not interested in resolving the conflict.

"Kiev would gladly withdraw from the Minsk agreements, but it does not do this only so that Western sanctions continue to operate against Russia - Moscow is, after all, the guarantor of this agreement," the expert noted in a commentary on RT.

In his opinion, Kiev is sabotaging a political settlement and is not going to fulfill the political clauses of the Minsk agreements "under no circumstances."

"The Kiev authorities want to build the world on their own terms," ​​Suzdaltsev believes.