Germany says will stick to Minsk Two to resolve Donbas war

The German Foreign Ministry said on Sept. 6 it isn’t drafting new rules to resolve the warfare in Ukraine’s Donbas region, contrary to reports the prior day, as reported by dw.com. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s statement was misinterpreted in that regard and there are “no new initiatives,” the statement said. Instead, Steinmeier intends to continue work in the framework of existing documents, namely Minsk Two.

No decisions were reached about Ukraine at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China without Ukrainian involvement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the closing press conference on Sept. 5. “Nothing happened here strategically,” she said, as reported by the Ukrinform news agency. “We need Ukraine” to resolve the situation in Donbas, she said, adding she doesn’t know when the next meeting of the Normandy Format will take place. Merkel met with Russian President Putin on Sept. 4 for 45 minutes, reported Deutsche Welle. She also discussed Ukraine at length with the French and U.S. presidents, Ukrinform reported.

Sept. 5 marks the second anniversary of the Minsk Two accords and the Russian government has yet to fulfill any conditions, tweeted that day Mariana Betsa, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. The same day, Putin said there’s no alternative to resolving the conflict than the Minsk Accords and including Ukrainian President Poroshenko in the talks. At the same time, he said he told Merkel and French President Hollande that “the issue is not to meet or not meet, but for these meetings to lead to some positive movement towards resolution.”

Zenon Zawada: The Deutsche Welle report on Steinmeier’s remarks ignited speculation that work on a Minsk Three was under way, which was being widely interpreted as Western capitulation before Russian President Putin. We can breathe a sign of relief knowing that’s not the case. We reiterate that Minsk Two is an adequate peace agreement since its conditions are clear and straightforward enough.

What’s required for their fulfillment is the will of the Russian government, which is absent. We believe the Russian government’s strategy is to exhaust Western leaders and the Western public with its two-year campaign of flaunting of Minsk Two. In the meantime, it’s actively working to remove sanctions in the voting booths and legislatures of the West, with increasing success. The winner of this conflict will be determined by whether Russia can remove the sanctions before its economy begins to collapse.