By Guido Lanfranchi.
In the wake of Ukraine’s renewal of special status for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Ambassador Kurt Volker urged Russia to withdraw its troops from Eastern Ukraine, in order to provide the conditions for implementing the Minsk Agreement.
Ukraine is doing its part for the implementation of the Minsk agreements, but Russian persistent military and political involvement in Eastern Ukraine continues to prevent the implementation of the accords. This sentence could resume, in a nutshell, the main argument of U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine, Ambassador Kurt Volker.
Speaking from Brussels, where he is holding consultations with different European institutions, Ambassador Volker welcomed the recent extension of the “Law on Special Status for eastern Ukraine” by the Ukrainian Parliament. Such extension – he noted – is a crucial step for the fulfillment of Ukraine’s requirements under the so-called Minsk II agreement, negotiated in 2015 by Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany.
However, the Ambassador also stressed that the full implementation of the accord, which includes an amnesty for conflict-related crimes and the organization of local elections, requires conditions of security that until now have not been matched, largely due to Russia’s lack of compliance.
While Ukraine has taken steps towards the fulfillment of its requirement, Russia has not – Mr. Volker claimed. The U.S. Special Representative accused Moscow of continuing to occupy Ukrainian territory, breaking the ceasefire, as well as maintaining ties with illegal armed groups and self-declared political entities in eastern Ukraine. As a result, a deadlock is currently in place, “between Ukraine needing Russia to do its part […] and Russia demanding more from Ukraine.” While reminding of U.S. efforts to break such deadlock through a UN-led peacekeeping mission, Ambassador Volker regretted that such proposals were not positively received his Russian counterparts.
On their side, Russian negotiators did put forward some proposals, such as a UN peacekeeping missions to protect OSCE observers, as well as a referendum in eastern Ukraine to decide the region’s future. However, Ambassador Volker deemed such proposals as unworkable, considering the former as far too limited, and the latter as lacking any legal basis.
Nevertheless, negotiations continue, and the U.S. Special Representative repeatedly reiterated his willingness to meet his Russian counterpart, Mr. Surkov, to jointly address the conflict in eastern Ukraine. To this regard, Mr. Volker stressed that, in spite of the government’s denials, Russia remains deeply involved in the region, as demonstrated by Mr. Surkov’s recent promises to raise salaries in the Donestsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.
Russia’s involvement in eastern Ukraine – Ambassador Volker stressed – is causing extremely high costs to Russia. Firstly,the country is bearing the direct financial costs for its military and political support to the People’s Republics. Moreover, Russia is also suffering the consequences of European and U.S. sanctions, which – Mr. Volker argued – should be kept in place. Finally, the Ambassador added that the conflict in Ukraine is currently dealing a serious blow to Russia’s image, especially among the Ukrainians.
Mr. Volker also touched upon the religious issues concerning Ukraine’s request for church independence from the Russian Orthodox Church. While reiterating the centrality of religious freedom, Mr. Volker expressed his wish that whatever decision will be taken, it should not lead to violence.
In his final remarks, Ambassador Volker reiterated the seriousness of the humanitarian crisis in eastern Ukraine, where ordinary people, most of them Russian-speaking, are bearing the costs of the conflict. He then called on Russia to “move beyond bringing this conflict into Ukrainian territory, withdrawits forces, and reestablish peace,” as only in this way “the lives of these people would improve significantly.”
