“Norman correspondence”. What exactly was Ukraine supposed to read in Lavrov’s “merged” letters?
The impudence with which Moscow made public diplomatic correspondence with Berlin and Paris could surprise everyone except Ukraine. We have long known the true value of both the words and actions of the Russian Federation. UNIAN asked the diplomats to whom the Kremlin’s signals were addressed and what conclusions we should draw from it.
Russia has finally disrupted a “Norman format” meeting scheduled for November. The result was a revelation of confidential correspondence between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the foreign ministers of France and Germany. In diplomatic circles, he is already a little surprised by the rudeness of the aggressor country, and from the steady support of Ukraine by European partners – even more than happy.
UNIAN asked leading diplomats and internationals to whom the signals sent by the publication of this diplomatic correspondence are addressed, and what conclusions should be drawn from this Ukraine.
Positive for Ukraine
Experts agreed on two points: by violating diplomatic protocol, Russia discredited itself and made a gift to Ukraine, demonstrating its own inadequacy against the background of support for the Ukrainian issue of Europe.
“Correspondence has shown who is in what positions and who is pursuing goals. Russia is trying to absolve itself of responsibility for resolving the aggression and present itself as a ‘peacemaker’, with which our partners and mediators in the negotiations are clearly not in agreement.” according to an UNIAN source in the world of Ukraine.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2007-2009) Volodymyr Ohryzko is convinced that the publication of diplomatic correspondence does not change anything. In his opinion, Russia has only once again resorted to blackmailing the member countries of the Normandy format.
Read alsoFrance and Germany reacted to Lavrov’s publication with the chapters of their letters
“Russia is saying to all this: there will be no position and no results. So, please, live with it. And if you want to change the situation, fulfill our conditions. That’s all you need to read in this event. It will just take longer. any decisions, regardless of whether there will be meetings of ministers or heads of state. It’s just more that we can not expect anything from these formats, “- said Ogryzko in a comment to UNIAN.
Bohdan Yaremenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy, emphasizes that the most positive thing for Ukraine is that France and Germany have very clearly supported Ukraine, even in closed correspondence.
We remember that in the first months of the war it was difficult for Ukraine to defend Russia’s recognition as a party to the conflict. diplomacy has achieved the main thing: none of the partners in the world is the Ukrainian section of the position of the Russian Federation, “Yaremenko told UNIAN.
According to experts, Russia’s violation of diplomatic ethics in relations with France and Germany irritates international partners, and therefore may even turn into a more positive attitude towards Ukraine.
Why did Russia have to publish correspondence, which in the international arena will play only in Ukraine? / frto REUTERS
Set of propaganda clichés
But an interesting question: why did Russia have to publish correspondence, which in the international arena will play only in Ukraine?
Former Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of Ukraine for Foreign Affairs Konstantin Yeliseyev expresses the opinion that Moscow does not need a “merger” of correspondence for any image achievements.
“Russia wanted to once again publicly remind about its position. Instead of a normal meeting, where it would have to once again find itself under political and diplomatic pressure,” the diplomat wrote in one of the social networks.
Another nuance, obvious from the published diplomatic mail, was that none of the participants in the talks confirmed the authenticity of the correspondence. Thus, it cannot be ruled out that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov himself could have replaced his own letter with a more emotional one: for publicity and for vivid propaganda.
“There are doubts about the authenticity of Lavrov’s list. Is it a letter from France and Germany, or a letter created by the International Union of Russia as part of a company to discredit the French and their partners? The document has no acquaintances, incoming and outgoing registration numbers. – Anatoly Baronin, director of the analytical group “Da Vinci AG”, thinks. – That is, what exactly merged Russia is a question. Are there any interferences in the integrity of documents and their reality? “.
Read alsoRussia is finishing the “Norman format”, but it will not be allowed to do so – Kuleb
In fact, the Russian draft resolution, like all subsequent letters to Berlin and Paris, is more like a story from a Russian TV channel, as it contains a full set of cliché propagandists. For example, the militants in the Russian resolution called the “authorities”, the system in Donbass – “internal conflict”, and the laws passed in Ukraine on education and indigenous peoples – “activities that must be stopped.”
“If Russia thinks that it has earned big points (by publishing correspondence, – UNIAN), then only on its own, domestic field. On the external field, hardly anyone will appreciate this step. Because Russia only discredits the Normandy format,” – said UNIAN Ambassador Extraordinary. . Of Ukraine in Bosnia, Croatia and Herzegovina Oleksandr Levchenko.
Signals from France and Germany
In response to letters from Sergei Lavrov, France and Germany, all that remained was to point out the unacceptable wording and to propose a Franco-German draft resolution.
“There are a lot of assessments in your project that France and Germany cannot agree with,” said Jean-Yves Le Drian and Gaiko Maas. it also contains provisions that do not support the Normandy format, including “establishing a direct dialogue between Kyiv, Donetsk and Luhansk”.
Even these low demands of the Kremlin in the account of France and Germany generally ignored the letters that were in Russian, that some provisions of the project go “far beyond the competence of the” Norman format “and are not significant in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.”
According to former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, European partners are well aware of the impasse, realizing that any logic of the Minsk agreements based on the Russian approach never works. Protelogist, it is better to continue the dialogue than to do nothing.
“France and Germany also do not want to escalate, but want to move forward. They want to continue if we talk. Of course, we wanted to be bigger, and bigger. However, they believe that continuing the conversation is better than its principles on the Normandy platform. This is the goal they are pursuing, “Klimkin told UNIAN.
The internationals emphasize that the attitude of the Normandy format country towards the Kremlin may change from now on. After all, the publication of documents marked “confidential” without the consent of other parties is a signal to France and Germany that Russia cannot be considered their other or partner.
“For France and Germany, it was a partner in the negotiations, and now Russia will have a slightly different attitude,” said Ambassador Alexander Levchenko. Russia behaved in the same way as in the international arena – brazenly. Perhaps some Western partners were surprised, who might still have some illusions about Russia’s policy. It is obvious that these illusions have now vanished, “Levchenko stressed.
For France and Germany, it was a partner in the negotiations, and now Russia will have a slightly different attitude / photo kremlin.ru/
“Norman format deadlock”
When the next “Norman format” will take place, no one will predict. Despite the fact that the “merged” correspondence did not damage the image of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that by his actions “Russia is finishing the” Norman format “.”
Do not whisper dead call this format and examination. According to them, Russia today is profitable to get out of its losing format and wait for a change of leaders in both Germany and Ukraine. Therefore, there is a risk that the next meeting of the “Quartet of Normandy” will take place no earlier than two years, as well as in other formations.
Read also“Oh, my God, Russia”: Lavrov confused in the name of Russia (video)
“Meetings in the” Norman format “will not take place until the next presidential election in Ukraine, if the current dynamics are maintained and there are no serious military provocations from the Russian side,” the diplomat Yeliseyev predicts.
According to Pavel Klimkin, today Ukraine is dangerously close to the point of “no return” for Donbass. Therefore, it is necessary to act on the basis of a new strategy.
“Given that Merkel’s last countdown has already begun, at the level of leaders, the meaning has met, of course, with the new leader of Germany. And not just to meet, but to make sense of it,” – said the former minister. .
What is a “containment package”?
Not the last hope the internationals place on the “strong trump card” of the West, which should force Russia to eventually sit down at the negotiating table. Thus, according to diplomats, the decision to recognize the so-called “Russian deterrence package”, which has long been in the “American drawer”, may change.
Today, a large package of sanctions is being developed in real time by the United States and EU representatives between Pavel Klimkin: “Certainly, the European Union is impossible here. The meaning of transatlantic solidarity is for the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to agree on their position. [щодо пакету] with the EU “.
“This package has been waiting for a political solution for a long time, says former Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko.” If it is adopted, then there is a chance that the situation will start to change. hellish sanctions. “Only then will Russia understand that it is necessary to change approaches.”
Anastasia Svetlevskaya
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