"There are no other formats": what is behind Biden's words about US support for the Normandy Four and the Minsk agreements

US President Joe Biden, in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Washington supports the Normandy format and efforts to implement the Minsk agreements.

A representative of the American administration announced this during a press conference.

"The President (Biden.

) stressed that the United States continues to support the Normandy format and the ongoing efforts to implement the Minsk agreements, including noting that the United States generally supports this process, of course, led by our French and German allies," White House.

At the same time, the US administration quoted Biden as saying that in the event of “further Russian invasion of Ukraine”, the United States and its European allies would respond with decisive economic measures, provide Kiev with additional defensive material and technical means and strengthen American NATO allies on the eastern flank with “additional capabilities ".

In turn, the office of the President of Ukraine said that during the telephone conversations between Biden and Zelensky, the key issues were "the security situation around Ukraine and the prospects for activating a peaceful settlement."

“The parties coordinated their positions on further steps in this direction.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that we have clear proposals to unblock the peace process, and we are ready to discuss them in different formats, ”the statement said.

According to the office of the Ukrainian leader, the heads of state also substantively discussed "ways of supporting in the field of security, financial and political support for Ukraine in the ongoing counteraction to hybrid aggression."

According to the head of the office, Andriy Yermak, the telephone conversations between Zelensky and Biden were very productive and timely.

According to him, the head of the White House confirmed that the United States will provide Ukraine with all the necessary assistance so that Kiev can "fight back" at any moment.

Yermak also said that Zelensky and his team are negative about the idea of ​​a frozen conflict in Donbass.

• The building of the presidential administration of Ukraine

• Reuters

• © Valentyn Ogirenko

“At the same time, according to the head of the presidential office, Ukraine is also doing everything to be ready for a possible escalation from Russia, in particular, strengthening the armed forces,” the Ukrainian administration said in a statement.

After negotiations with the President of Russia

According to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Biden told Vladimir Zelensky "about the results of his conversation with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin."

Let us remind you that the meeting of the Russian and American leaders took place in the format of a videoconference on December 7.

The prevailing topic of the conversation between the two presidents was the situation around Ukraine, the Kremlin press service reported.

“The predominant place in the conversation was occupied by the problems associated with the internal Ukrainian crisis and the lack of progress in the implementation of the 2015 Minsk agreements, which are the uncontested basis for a peaceful settlement,” the press service said in a statement.

It is also noted that Vladimir Putin, with specific examples, illustrated the destructive line of Kiev, which, as the Kremlin emphasizes, is aimed at completely dismantling the Minsk agreements and agreements reached in the Normandy format.

The Russian President also expressed serious concern about "Kiev's provocative actions against Donbass."

The Kremlin press service also reported on the position of the head of the White House, expressed by him during negotiations with the Russian leader.

“Joseph Biden, for his part, emphasized the allegedly“ threatening ”nature of the movement of Russian troops near the Ukrainian borders and outlined sanctions measures that the United States and its allies would be ready to apply in case of further escalation of the situation,” the message says.

In response, Putin stressed that the responsibility should not be shifted to Russia, since it is NATO that is making dangerous attempts to conquer Ukrainian territory and building up its military potential at the Russian borders.

Recall that the talks between the Russian and American leaders took place after a series of media reports and statements at the highest level from Western countries, including the United States and Ukraine, about the alleged possible invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukrainian territory.

Moscow categorically denies any such intentions.

As the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov told reporters, Moscow does not "harbor any aggressive plans" and it is completely wrong to associate any movements of the RF Armed Forces across Russian territory with such plans.

Even Americans understand

As political analyst Alexander Asafov noted in an interview with RT, the telephone conversations between Biden and Zelensky, which took place two days after the virtual meeting of the Russian and American leaders, can hardly be called significant for world politics.

“The head of the White House, in fact, simply informed the President of Ukraine about what he had discussed with Vladimir Putin and informed about his intentions.

This was the main task, which the White House itself recognizes, ”the analyst said.

At the same time, Biden said during a conversation with Zelensky about his support for the Minsk agreements and the Normandy format, since there are no other options for resolving the situation in southeastern Ukraine, and the United States understands this, Asafov said.

• White House building

• AFP

• © Samuel Corum / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

“Everything else is Kiev's fantasies.

There are no other formats, and it would be absurd to establish new ones, since Zelensky does not fulfill not only the Minsk agreements, but also the promises he made personally within the framework of the Normandy format, ”the expert recalled.

However, according to Asafov, Kiev will not abandon its attempts to come up with new options for negotiations to resolve the conflict in Donbass, including with the participation of the United States.

“They need this in order to abandon the Minsk agreements, which they do not follow,” the analyst said.

However, the United States, which Ukraine has repeatedly tried to attract to the Normandy format, is ready to support Kiev only in words and by providing it with fixed military-technical assistance, the expert said.

In his opinion, the American authorities only want to demonstrate their support for Kiev, but are not ready to directly intervene in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"All the standard Washington incantations about helping the Ukrainian authorities and about 'Russian aggression' are leveled by the US position that the Americans will never fight for Ukraine, since it is not a NATO country and probably never will be," the analyst emphasized.

Sergey Ermakov, an expert at the RISS Research Coordination Center, adheres to a similar position.

According to him, the Ukrainian side was clearly informed by Washington that all assistance to Ukraine, no matter how it is called for propaganda purposes, would be limited.

“The United States will not fight for Ukraine.

In this regard, all responsibility for provocations near the borders of the Russian Federation will fall on the shoulders of Kiev.

They are not going to take Ukraine into NATO, which means they are not going to give it any security guarantees.

Further assistance to Ukraine through military-technical cooperation and cooperation, Washington will not go, no matter how much Kiev wants it, "Ermakov emphasized in a commentary on RT.

As for the Normandy format, Ermakov explained that Ukraine wants to achieve the United States to join it in order to "internationalize the internal conflict."

• Meeting of the Normandy Four

• Reuters

• © Charles Platiau / Pool / File

“Kiev needs to involve external parties in the situation in eastern Ukraine at any cost.

And by involving the United States, he hopes to solve the problem in his favor.

In addition, in these conditions it will be easier for Kiev to delay the implementation of the Minsk agreements or to interpret them in a new way, ”the analyst believes.

At the same time, as Ermakov emphasized, the United States does not think about Kiev's goals, it pursues its own geopolitical interests.

“The same is directly and clearly stated in the conceptual documents of the United States.

Ukraine is more interesting to Washington as an instrument that, as it seems to him, allows the Americans to exert additional pressure on Russia, ”the expert summed up.