... growing danger that we will lose the only legitimate mechanism of managing the crisis in and around Ukraine.
Andrey Kortunov:
Europe’s Greens as Future Strategic Partners of Russia
Second, assuming that there is visible progress in implementing the Minsk agreements, there might be an opportunity to modify the EU’s mechanism for Russian sanctions. This is not to say that Brussels should consider a complete lifting of sanctions. Nevertheless, sanctions usually only work if the side imposing sanctions ...
... Ukraine, which excludes the Crimea issue from the future negotiation process. Based on my research and observations, I believe Russian interests in Ukraine can be summarised in three key points:
First
, Russia is interested in the implementation of the Minsk agreements and reintegration of Donbass in Ukraine. In this case, Russia is concerned about the rights of the Russian-speaking population and their safety, and this issue will rank high on Russia’s agenda.
Second
, Russia aims at rebuilding its ...
... full or half empty. Socioeconomic reforms in the country are barely moving forward. Ukraine, however, did not become a “failed state,” did not declare a default on its foreign debt, and did not abandon its course for a liberal market economy. The Minsk agreements are, for the most part, not being implemented. People in Donbass continue to die, but there is no major military escalation in the east of Ukraine: the Donbass militia did not attempt to take Mariupol, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine ...
... was initiated in Bénouville the 6th of June 2014 at the celebration of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, with the objective to allow a first encounter between Poroshenko and Putin. France is thus a facilitator for negotiations. It did not sign the Minsk agreements but supported them with a declaration.
There are further reasons that make France part of the ‘Normandy Format’. France (under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy) played a great role in the negotiation process in Georgia ...
