Putin supports extending peace talks in Normandy Format

Russian President Putin told a Dec. 23 press conference that he supports the continuation of peace talks in the Normandy Format that consists of French President Francois Hollande, German Chanceller Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Poroshenko, reported the pravda.com.ua news site. “The Normandy Format doesn’t demonstrate any special effectiveness and all that remains is to regret that it’s performing so sluggishly, but there’s nothing else,” Putin said, adding, “If we lose this mechanism, then the situation will deteriorate and rather quickly, which isn’t wanted.”

Zenon Zawada: There are several reasons Putin likes the Normandy Format talks. Firstly, the fulfillment of the Minsk Accords would work to his advantage. Granting autonomy for Donbas will enable the Kremlin to significantly impact politics in the Ukrainian capital. Secondly, the current French and German foreign policy establishments have shown they are utterly clueless in how to deal with Putin’s political and military strategy, particularly in extending the warfare in Donbas. 

But now another reason has emerged for Putin’s support, which is that he will likely gain a very friendly French president, and a friendlier German chancellor, in 2017. The Normandy Format talks involving Francois Fillon or Marine Le Pen would place more pressure on Ukraine to either freeze the conflict, or fulfill the Minsk Accords.

So we see time as being on Putin’s side in the Normandy Format, which is part of the reason why he’s allowing the warfare to continue in Donbas. At least eight Ukrainians soldiers were killed in fighting last week.