... territory without formal membership, by means of military cooperation agreements between NATO and Kiev, and the threat to make Ukraine a nuclear power by calling into question the Budapest Memorandum[xi]. The security of the inhabitants of the independent Donbass republics recognised by Russia in February 2022 has been threatened for more than 8 years, as a result of which Russia intervened under Article 51 of Chapter VII of the United Nations[xii]. Russia also put forward to the Security Council Article 107 of the UN, which allows it ...
... incentives that motivate the alliance to expand its presence on Russia’s western borders.
There is no other way to achieve these goals, except through measured, albeit quite modest, de-escalation measures, including progress on the demarcation line in Donbass and along the Russian-Ukrainian border. These measures need not be fixed in some treaty—instead, they could be carried out by the parties as unilateral actions taken in parallel. Partly, such measures are already contained in the first paragraphs of the Minsk Agreements; ...
... President Putin and President Biden in Geneva. As you know, the heads of our countries constructively discussed the intra-Ukrainian conflict. They agreed that the Minsk agreements serve as the sole framework for political settlement of the conflict in Donbass. Instead of working on ways to implement the Minsk arrangements, certain State Department officials blame Russia for all the troubles in Ukraine and label my country an “aggressor.”
We have repeatedly warned the administration that such counterproductive statements have nothing to do with reality. Solutions can be found only through diplomatic means without ...
... However, the American and EU diplomats may well use such manoeuvres to put pressure on Russia. The main threat is the loss of control over the situation, should the symbolic whipping turn into a real conflict.
In the end, full-scale military operations in Donbass in the near future are not the baseline scenario. Russia is a strong adversary; the risk of big losses for Ukraine are great. Accordingly, it is hardly worth considering a scenario of a sharp tightening of sanctions against Russia. No radical aggravation—no radical sanctions.
At the same time, politics ...
... conflict.
Donbass as separate state — the variant of Transnistria.
Donbass as part of Ukraine. Possible only on the basis of wide autonomy. At the same time, there is needed a process of economic reconstruction, without ethnic or language issues.
Donbass as the part of Russia, the less possible one.
The second variant is considered to be the most peaceful for the international community. Nonetheless, we still have the army of Donetsk and Lugansk which are interested in their own profit. So for Russia and Europe, it ...
... impossible to solve and formulate all principal or small regulations for autonomy under Ukrainian law, as it adds up to several thousand details. Therefore, a smart framework agreement is needed and would lay the groundwork for ensuring the rights of ethnic Russians in the Donbass on the same level as those of ethnic Germans in South Tyrol. Such an agreement would also guarantee rights to Kiev similar to those of Rome. Leveraging this framework agreement as the model for Eastern Ukraine seems to be the only reliable way ...
... countries are choosing different tracks and pace of development. That is why the attitude towards them should be different, and Europe as well as Russia take it into account. There is no universal politics towards the post soviet countries anymore.
The Russian role in the Donbass conflict — mediator or a part
Viktor Mironenko, Aleksandr Gushchin, Aleksandr Levchenkov:
How Ukraine Will Change After Zelensky’s Victory
Recently we have seen several important steps from all the sides towards the conflict regulation. The ...
... Co-Chair of the
Senate Ukraine Caucus
, which is a sub-group of lawmakers in the Senate who advocate, lobby, and vote collectively for pro-Ukrainian policies. That fact alone might explain the lack of thought diversity on display. Absent of any pro-Russian lobby in the United States, the pro-Ukraine lobby has been able to monopolize Congress and coalesce support around its interests.
That, however, should not stop us from having an honest debate about whether or not the United States should be sending ...
... its policy on Russia and Iran.
Andrey Kortunov:
Will Putin and Macron Open a New Political Season?
However, the active approach of French diplomacy cannot influence progress in implementing the Minsk Agreements. The keys to resolving the conflict in Donbass are primarily held by Kiev and Moscow. That said, Macron was the first European leader to feel a change in the nature of Russian-Ukrainian relations and to try to use this new trend. The change of power in Kiev opened a narrow window of opportunity for cautious movement forward on Donbass. The new president of Ukraine intends to resolve the issue. His initiatives have received ...
... 2019, RIAC hosted an expert seminar and the presentation of the International Crisis Group report “
Rebels without a Cause: Russia’s Proxies in Eastern Ukraine
”.
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.
