Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba held a telephone conversation with the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell, during which he accused Moscow of a destructive approach to negotiations in the Normandy format.

This was reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

"The minister noted the destructive approach of the Russian Federation to the negotiations in the Normandy format and called on the European Union to take political and other measures to restrain Russia from further aggressive actions," the ministry said.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also said that Kuleba informed Borrel about the situation in Donbass, Crimea and on the border.

Earlier, the Ukrainian minister said that the situation in the Donbass and on the border will become the central topics of his meeting with the foreign ministers of the EU countries and the leadership of NATO, which will be held in Brussels on November 15.

“The key topic of my talks in Brussels will be security.

It will focus on practical steps to support Ukraine from our partners against the background of the situation along the Ukrainian border, in the zone of armed conflict in Donbass, in the temporarily occupied Crimea and in the Transnistrian region of Moldova, ”TASS quoted him as saying.

Kuleba also said that the situation with refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border is allegedly an element of the "hybrid war" of Russia against Europe.

“There is no so-called migration crisis in Belarus now.

There is a hybrid war between Russia and Europe, ”the head of Ukrainian diplomacy says.

"Deal with the question on the merits"

We will remind, earlier the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova said that Moscow does not prevent a new meeting in the Normandy format.

“It doesn’t slow down, it’s not going to participate in an empty staging event.

Fill it with meaning, namely, do what was agreed upon earlier during the Normandy format summits, and then there will be a reason to discuss a new meeting, ”Zakharova wrote in her Telegram channel.

Prior to that, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that French Foreign Minister Jean-v. Le Drian had previously proposed holding a meeting at the level of the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the quartet on November 11, but Russia refused to participate in it.

“Nothing will happen on November 11, we are not discussing any new dates primarily because we first need to understand what the product of such a meeting will be, what its result will be, and how much its result will be based on the implementation of all previous decisions by the Ukrainian side in "Normandy format", - quotes the words of Lavrov TASS.

He also recalled that the Russian side on October 29 sent the partners in the "Normandy Four" a draft final document of a possible ministerial meeting.

However, the next day, Le Drian said that he had not had time to familiarize himself with its content, said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“The document was honest, sufficiently capacious, it covered all the key problems that the settlement of the internal Ukrainian crisis rests against, the problems, first of all, in the refusal of the Ukrainian leadership to fulfill its obligations, the UN Security Council resolutions,” the Russian minister emphasized.

Russia is waiting for a reaction to its proposals and is not interested in "showy performances" designed to demonstrate that the format continues to work, Lavrov said.

Despite this, Moscow received a joint message from the foreign ministers of Germany and France, in which the question of convening a meeting of the Quartet on November 11 was again raised.

“I'm not talking about diplomatic etiquette, it's just not humanly cultural.

We sent additional arguments in favor of not planning events for show, but dealing with the issue on the merits, ”Lavrov said.

He also stressed that in its document the Russian side listed the specific steps Ukraine is taking to "torpedo the Minsk agreements."

Recall that the last meeting of the Normandy Four at the level of heads of state was held in Paris in 2019.

Since then, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team have regularly talked about new meetings, but the Kremlin emphasized that there are no prerequisites for them, since Kiev did not fulfill the agreements reached during the Paris summit.

"Our Big Neighbor"

It is worth noting that the statements of Dmitry Kuleba appeared against the background of the publication of an interview with Josep Borrell, in which he stated the need for dialogue with Russia.

“Russia remains our great neighbor, a global partner on climate change, Iran and the future of the Arctic.

I want to continue talking with the Russian leadership, ”TASS quotes Borrell as saying.

The head of European diplomacy said he looked forward to meeting with Sergei Lavrov at the OSCE ministerial meeting in Stockholm, which will take place in early December.

  • Josep Borrell

  • Reuters

  • © Frederick Florin

“We met with the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov in September in New York, and I may meet with him again in a few days at a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Stockholm.

Diplomacy is about maintaining a dialogue even with those with whom you have strong disagreements, ”Borrell stressed.

In addition, the diplomat noted that the parties to the conflict in eastern Ukraine should not "add fuel to the fire."

“At the moment the situation is calm, we are in contact with our Ukrainian partner.

I urge all parties to act responsibly and not add fuel to the fire, ”Borrell said.

Meanwhile, as analysts note, Ukraine is once again trying to hold Russia responsible for its own destructive actions that hinder the settlement of the conflict in Donbass.

“Ukrainian politicians are distorting reality.

Kiev is to blame for the slipping of the Normandy format.

Making promises, but not fulfilling any of them, he blames Russia for everything, "political analyst Alexander Asafov explained in a conversation with RT.

From his point of view, Ukraine wants to introduce new participants into the Normandy format, in particular, the United States or Great Britain, in order to reset the situation and avoid responsibility for failure to fulfill previously assumed obligations.

“In addition to expanding the number of participants and diluting the agenda, the Ukrainian authorities, of course, want the abolition of the Minsk agreements, with the exception of the last point on border control.

In order to denounce the agreement, they need permission from the “guarantors” - France and Germany, ”the expert explained.

However, a number of politicians in continental Europe, including Josep Borrell, are well aware of what Kiev is planning to implement, Asafov said.

“Europe is well aware of the value of words spoken in a diplomatic format, enshrined, among other things, by the UN Security Council.

Borrell realizes the value of these documents and understands what Kiev is striving for.

But he cannot agree to this for many reasons, ”the expert says.

From the point of view of Oleg Nemensky, a leading researcher at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, despite the ongoing information campaign on the part of Ukraine and the difficult geopolitical situation, the EU understands that contacts and dialogue with Russia are necessary to resolve a whole range of important issues.

“Europe and, to some extent, the United States are focused on creating negotiation formats with Russia.

This contradicts the radical and hostile Ukrainian position.

Brussels has to put pressure on Kiev so that it does not interfere with the development of Western initiatives to develop a dialogue with Moscow, ”concluded Nemensky.