Putin to meet with Hollande, Merkel separately on Ukraine

Proposed Normandy Format talks to resolve the armed conflict in Ukraine won’t occur at the G20 summit in Hangzhou on Sept. 4-5, confirmed on Aug. 30 Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to Russian President Putin. “This meeting was not agreed upon and after the well-known events in Crimea, our president clearly stated his view on this possible contact,” Ushakov said, referring to the alleged sabotage this month that is widely recognized as a Russian hoax. “We declined to even consider such a prospect.”

Instead, Putin will meet separately with French President Hollande on Sept. 4 and German Chancellor Merkel on Sept. 5 to discuss the situation in Ukraine. The Normandy Format has consisted of Putin, Hollande, Merkel and Ukrainian President Poroshenko, who proposed the talks for the G20.

Russian Duma elections to be held in Crimea on Sept. 18 are illegitimate politically or legally, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told a radio interview on Aug. 30. Five days earlier, the Ukrainian government called upon Crimean residents to boycott the elections.

Zenon Zawada: When the alleged sabotage attempt was reported, we suggested that Putin would use the threat to cancel the Normandy Format to gain concessions. Among them could be the separate meetings with Hollande and Merkel. We believe that Putin thinks he will be able to achieve his goals by negotiating with them separately, and without the presence of Poroshenko. So the Crimean hoax could have already borne fruit. Among the behind-the-scenes concessions could involve the West turning a blind eye to the Russian Duma elections in Crimea planned for Sept. 18.