Germany and Russia meet to discuss Ukraine and Syria

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met high Russian
officials in Berlin on Tuesday, July 24. The meeting included German Foreign
Minister Heiko Maas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the Russian
military’s chief of staff Valery Gerasimov. Deutsche Welle reports that while
Syria was the major focus of the meeting, the German side also brought up the
possibility of bringing United Nations peacekeepers to southeastern Donbas in
order to stop the fighting. Meanwhile, RFE/RL states that Russia’s Foreign Ministry
pointed to conversations regarding the “ongoing work within the ‘Normandy
format’ to fulfill the Minsk agreements”.

James Hydzik: It is most probable that this little-reported meeting, without media
glare, represents the true state of affairs regarding Ukraine, in contrast to
the hype and mystery surrounding the recent Trump-Putin summit. Stasis seems to
be the order of the day, and we hold that the meeting, in terms of Ukraine at
least, was the two sides feeling each other out in terms of maintaining the
status quo. It must be recognized that there is a not-insignificant chance that
this meeting, set up last week between Putin and Merkel, is the quiet delivery
of post-Helsinki ultimatums and positions by the Russians, but given that
public postures have changed little in the end and any verbal agreement made by
President Trump are going to face increased hostility if acted upon, we heavily
discount this scenario.