Ukraine concerned it will be excluded from Donbas peace talks

The Ukrainian government is concerned that it may be excluded from the Donbas peace talks in the attempts by U.S. President Donald Trump to improve relations with the Russian government, Deputy Foreign Minister Olena Zerkal told Reuters in an interview published on Jan. 25. Ukraine is supposed to have a voice in any agreement between Russia and the U.S. that will aim to halt the violence in Donbas.

“We don’t want to be a bargaining chip. We want to participate,” Zerkal said, adding that she has no faith in a possible gentleman’s agreement between Putin and Trump. She repeated the president’s position on the need to maintain sanctions against Russia as the single instrument that can restrain Russian President Putin.

Zenon Zawada: Ukraine must certainly be involved in some capacity in negotiations to determine the Donbas war’s resolution. However, Zerkal’s concerns about Ukraine becoming “a bargaining chip” in global politics are a bit late. In all frankness, Ukraine has had that status ever since it was unable to defend its land against the Russian invasion.

Ukrainian President Poroshenko also bears responsibility for failing to adopt a program of intense and quick-paced reforms, as well as failing to organize a public relations campaign on the reforms program to convince the Western public that Ukraine is worth the fight. Instead, “Ukraine fatigue” has once again set in and Ukraine’s position on the geopolitical field is weak, unfortunately. It’s quite possible that Ukraine will be forced to settle for whatever is agreed upon between the U.S. and Russia.