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in Minsk on Tuesday will be multilateral negotiations on the economic and political situation in Ukraine. In the Minsk summit involving the four presidents and three senior European official, and negotiations will be a variety of formats. The main intrigue – whether Vladimir Putin will meet and Poroshenko. Before the summit, Russia has significantly strengthened its bargaining position, the expert said.
Who and who will meet in Minsk
On Tuesday in Minsk will be multilateral negotiations with the participation of leaders four post-Soviet countries and three representatives of the leadership of the European Union. First held high-level talks in the format of the Customs Union (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan) plus Ukraine with colleagues in the union, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko and Nursultan Nazarbayev meet Ukrainian leader Poroshenko. Later, the leaders of the four countries will join the European Commission, ITAR-TASS reported with reference to the press service of the Kremlin. It’s representative of the European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and EU commissioners: Energy – Guenther Oettinger, the Trade – Karel De Gucht.
Will there be a bilateral meeting between Putin and Poroshenko, a spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov on Monday clearly did not say. “At this meeting, if it still is, we expect first frank conversation on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, humanitarian issues,” – said Peskov Interfax.
planned several bilateral meetings; who and who will meet, will be announced later, said at a briefing in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Although this summit in Minsk, it was announced late last week, yesterday, spokesman of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko could not report to RBC, where it will hold talks. Upon inquiry, and did not respond to the press service of other participants. According to a European diplomat, the format of the meetings continued to be consistent for a Monday.
The subject of negotiations
According to Lavrov, the main topic on the agenda will be to discuss economic ties between the Customs Union , Ukraine and the EU in the context of the signing of the agreement on Kiev a free trade zone with the European Union. “We have long wanted to start a depoliticized, pragmatic conversation about how to combine commitment of the Ukrainian state in CIS free trade zone and the commitments that Ukraine is ready to take on in the framework of the signed, but not ratified the agreement between Ukraine and the EU” – said Lavrov. According to him, the meeting will be reported on the results of preliminary negotiations conducted by experts.
will be discussed and a political settlement in the Ukraine, Lavrov said. At the briefing, he noted that the new settlement plan Moscow is not present. “What’s wrong with a plan to stop the hostilities without preconditions?” – He replied to a question. He recalled that in Afghanistan in the negotiation process and included terrorist movement “Taliban”. “Why even defined terrorists want to talk about a political settlement, but with people who are defending their right to language, religion, it is impossible to talk to them?” – Rhetorically asked the foreign minister. According to Lavrov, it is important to go back to previous agreements and to fulfill all the obligations previously undertaken by the parties, which were discussed at the meetings in Geneva, Normandy and Berlin, including dialogue with all regions of Kyiv with the participation of all political forces.
Poroshenko last week also said that at the meeting it is time to talk about the world, because the world is tired of war. At Saturday’s talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he reiterated that Donbas offers its peace plan. The two leaders agreed that one of the most important conditions for the termination of the military conflict is to establish control over the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The European approach
Representatives of the European Union on Summit also expect to discuss political and security problems, as well as to confirm its concern at the humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine, said European External Action Service (EMS). The EU intends to exchange views with Russia and Ukraine on the implementation of the Association Agreement EU – Ukraine and once again explain why the agreement is a positive factor for the entire region, the arguments in this section will Karel De Gucht, said the EMU.
A European diplomat notes that Minsk – is a convenient platform for negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, the fact of the meeting in Minsk does not mean that the Customs Union becomes a full member of the settlement, although the EU drew attention to the fact that the positions of Belarus and Kazakhstan in Ukraine different from the Russian, though the goal of the meeting – to find a way out of the Ukrainian crisis.
In an interview with ARD Merkel noted that part of the peace settlement can be decentralized, gas deal, trade relations between Ukraine and Russia. She noticed that Kiev is free to join the Customs Union, the EU will not make that big of a conflict, but it should be an independent decision of the Kiev authorities. Poroshenko on Saturday at a meeting with Merkel said that the Association Agreement with the EU will be ratified as soon as possible.
Western politicians sympathetic to Ukraine, faced with the fact that the fighting in the country are becoming more violent, turn a blind eye for it is impossible that further strengthens Russia’s position and forces the western part ners to put pressure on Poroshenko said political analyst Maria Lipman. Russia to meet in Minsk has increased their bargaining position, the story of the humanitarian convoy – a statement of the position of other forces in the sense that one can not decree Moscow, the Ukrainian government does not control its own territory, and Russia there can act on their own, it has significant leverage and room for maneuver, says Lipman.
Russia’s principled position has not changed, says expert: Russia needs guarantees that Ukraine will not appear in the western orbit of influence, Moscow wants to retain influence over Kiev through the veto of his policies eastern regions. The outcome is impossible to predict the Minsk meeting, all participants, it is important to save face, revealing that the previous meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France, ended virtually no avail, recalls Lipman.
Putin and Poroshenko first met on June 6 Normandy, the day before the inauguration Poroshenko. Their conversation lasted 15 minutes. July 31 at the residence of Lukashenka “Zaslawye” near Minsk hosted a meeting of the contact group of Leonid Kuchma, Mikhail Zurabov and Heidi Tagliavini, and the militia, it was the release of prisoners and access to the crash site of a Malaysian “Boeing”. August 15 presidential adviser Yuri Lutsenko said that the administration Poroshenko discussed the possibility of holding talks with Putin in Minsk.
Pauline Khimshiashvili
August 26, 2014
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