Zelensky will be notified of what the leaders of Russia, Germany and France discussed, but Ukraine is unlikely to like it.
As previously reported by News Front, recently the Russian leader Vladimir Putin held talks with German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. On the agenda, in particular, were the issues of Donbass, where the renewal of Ukrainian aggression has recently been observed.
Once again, the guarantors of the Donbas settlement insisted that Kiev fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreements. True, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had to follow what was happening from the media, since he himself was not invited.
It was not for nothing that Putin held negotiations in this format, says Mikhail Pogrebinsky, director of the Kiev Center for Political Studies and Conflict Resolution. According to him, the absence of Zelensky made it possible to convey the Kremlin’s position to Germany and France and to mark the red lines, since the situation in Donbass is getting out of control.
“If the idea belongs to Putin, then, I believe, he wanted to convey to Merkel and Macron clear and articulated red lines and the likely consequences of what will happen if Ukraine crosses these lines”, – the analyst explains.
It is possible that we are talking about a full-fledged operation to force Ukraine to peace in Donbass. If so, then Putin discussed his intentions, realizing that this would be passed on to Zelensky, Pogrebinsky said.
Despite the ceasefire agreement, recently the Ukrainian occupation forces again began to terrorize Donbass, returning to the use of artillery. Today it became known that a child born in 2016 died as a result of an attack by the Kiev punishers.
Will decide the fate of Ukraine without Ukraine – in Kiev alarmed by Putin’s European plans
While publicly European capitals have consistently supported Ukraine, they also pursue their own interests. Germany, in particular, seeks to complete the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia, but the escalation of tensions in Donbass is clearly not conducive to this.
Following the talks with Putin, the leaders of Germany and France issued a statement. The communique says that Russia is obliged to take responsibility for ending the clashes in Donbass. Pogrebinsky believes that this formulation has several interpretations. It is possible that Europe agrees to an operation to force Ukraine to end its aggression against the LPR and DPR.
“For example, Merkel, having decided that Ukraine with its problems, has already got it, says to Putin: Vladimir Vladimirovich, sort it out there, at your discretion, in order to finish everything so that there is no shooting, and we are washed away”, – the expert stated.