2023-04-06T13:45:00+03:00 Politics 2024-05-15T05:03:49+03:00

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Why Negotiations In Normandy Format Failed. Reply From Ex-Ambassador In Germany Melnyk

Why Negotiations In Normandy Format Failed. Reply From Ex-Ambassador In Germany Melnyk

Negotiations between Ukraine and the aggressor state Russia in the Normandy Format collapsed back in 2015. Germany could not become a neutral mediator. This was stated by former Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrii Melnyk in an interview with the publication RBC-Ukraine.

So, in his opinion, there were several reasons for the failure of the Normandy negotiations, but the most important of them was that Germany never managed to become an "honest broker".

"The interests of the neutral mediator were too mixed with their own selfish interests, which ultimately came to the fore, taking into account the fundamental nature of German-Russian relations," Melnyk noted.

He added that instead of strictly controlling the implementation of agreements by Moscow, Berlin decided not to annoy the Russians. Therefore, the negotiation process turned into a purely technical process.

The former ambassador recalled that during the spring and summer of 2015, the Russians were under severe pressure from the mediators. However, the situation has changed since September, when Russia started a "new game" in Syria.

"I remember, sometime in September-October, another meeting in Berlin at Villa Borsig at the level of the heads of foreign ministries of the Normandy Four. I remember Lavrov, who was so happy for the first time, in good humor, joyfully declaring: "Guys, I just got a call from John Kerry (the then U.S. Secretary of State)" after the military intervention of the Russians in Damascus, making it clear: "Well, that's it, goodbye, Russia is again in a big game with Washington, and there's nothing for me to do here," Melnyk said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, there are many supporters of negotiations with Russia and freezing the war in Ukraine in various countries.