Merkel speaks with Putin and Szydło about Donbas situation

The fighting in south-eastern Donbas figured in conversations German chancellor Angela Merkel held with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Polish PM Beata Szydło on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Deutsche Welle reports that the Chancellor told reporters that “the situation on the ground is still unacceptable.”

According to DW news site, Merkel spoke with Putin by telephone, and urged him to influence pro-Russian forces to reduce the fighting in Ukraine. The two agreed that further Normandy talks were required, but no date was set.

Later in the day, during her first state visit to Poland since the Law and Justice party assumed power in Poland in 2015, Merkel and Szydło discussed the positions of their countries on Ukraine as a point of common ground against otherwise frayed diplomatic relations. Merkel also stated in Warsaw that sanctions against Russia cannot be lifted, given the current conditions.

James Hydzik: These statements by Angela Merkel support those made on Monday by EU foreign policy and neighborhood policy chiefs Federica Mogherini and Johannes Hahn regarding the absence of change on the Russian side that would warrant a change in the sanctions regime against it. These assessments can be expected to inform talks regarding Ukraine in the near future, as German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen meets with U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis on Friday, NATO defense ministers meet next week, and the Munich Security Conference meets the week after that.