UA
FR
DEThe Russian Federation wants to destroy the negotiations in the Normandy format using others, but Ukraine, France, and Germany will not allow it to do so. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba made a corresponding statement, commenting on the publication by the Russian side of the correspondence between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the foreign ministers of France and Germany.
“As for diplomatic correspondence, which takes place within the Normandy format, you know, I would like to joke and poke fun sarcastically, but there is nothing good about it actually. With its actions, Russia is simply wiping the Normandy format out, demonstrating that it is not interested in its development, but [Russians] also undoubtedly undermine the remnants of trust in them,” Kuleba said.
The minister added that he had agreed with the foreign ministers of Germany and France to prevent the destruction of the format.
“We will work towards involving Russia in the negotiation process, in diplomatic efforts to resolve this conflict,” the minister stressed.
He added that after the publication of the correspondence, diplomats may not trust Russia further, and this, according to Kuleba, complicates the work.
On 17 November, Sergey Lavrov’s diplomatic correspondence with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Russian side explained its actions by the fact that Russia’s position in the Normandy format is allegedly distorted and, by publishing the materials, the Russian Federation wants to “prevent further speculations.”
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Russian Federation would never recognise itself as a party to the war in Donbas and that Ukraine was torpedoing the Minsk agreements and violating them.
Bohdan Marusyak
