On September 15, 2019, Helsinki (Finland) hosted an international seminar on finding ways to resolve the conflict in Donbass
On September 15, 2019, Helsinki (Finland) hosted an international seminar on finding ways to resolve the conflict in Donbass. The event was attended by experts from Russia, Ukraine, France, Austria, Finland, the UK, and the USA. The Russian ...
... Cause: Russia’s Proxies in Eastern Ukraine
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The event was attended by the authors of the report, as well as representatives of Russian expert community to discuss current issues regarding analysis and assessment of the crisis settlement process in Donbass.
... electoral campaign, V. Zelensky himself repeatedly failed to demonstrate a fundamental agenda for developing relations with Russia. Many of his statements are contradictory. For instance, on the one hand, he spoke about his desire to stop the bloodshed in Donbass, restore the infrastructure destroyed during his predecessor’s tenure and hold talks with the Russian president. On the other hand, the new leader said he would refuse to grant special status to the uncontrolled territories and that granting ...
... 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 did not start a large-scale offensive against Donetsk. Moscow and Kiev trade ...
... Putin as much as it can. The EU is more pragmatic. Its aim is to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine while making its relationship with Russia more predictable, if not more friendly. With that in mind, Russia could take steps to promote peace in the Donbass via the United Nations peacekeeping operation, for example.
Andrey Kortunov:
Will Donbass Live to See the UN Peacekeepers?
However, trust is a key concern in Moscow.
Would Brussels support Moscow’s initiative? Would this kind of move be sabotaged ...
... the use of international peacekeepers under auspices of the United Nations in the east of Ukraine. The idea was not totally new either: it had been discussed, in a variety of formats, ever since the very first months of the military confrontation in Donbass. However, it was the first time that Russia had officially proposed a peacekeeping initiative at the highest level. The President of the Russian Federation suggested a fairly narrow mandate for potential peacekeepers, yet his initiative took all ...
... to learn what can and cannot be the subject of political bargaining.
It is precisely this difficult decision that Russian and Ukrainian politicians must make today in determining their positions with regard to the deployment of the UN Blue Helmets in Donbass. There are at least seven aspects of the possible peacekeeping mission that require some kind of compromise to be reached by Moscow and Kiev — even if they are purely tactical with hopes for further revision in the future. A lack of mutual understanding ...
As the 2018 World Cup looms in Russia, the need for a peacekeeping force in the Donbass grows evermore urgent. Beijing should recognise the irony in coming to the aid of both the West and the former Soviet bloc.
Peacekeepers in southeastern Ukraine are suddenly back on the global policy agenda, and Asia now has its first major ...
The current surge of violence in the Donbass conflict zone was expected, but its intensity came as an unpleasant surprise for many, with military and civilian deaths at a level not seen since 2015. The Ukrainian authorities are seeking to exploit this opportune moment to carry out a sweeping ...
Four months after the Minsk II accords, the Ukraine crisis continues to simmer, with occasional violent eruptions. The ceasefire in Donbass has not prevented some 1,000 people from losing their lives since February, adding to the previous fatality count of more than 5,000. Some of the heavy weapons that both sides should have pulled back from the line of contact are still positioned ...