Russia, France, Germany do not mention Crimea at the 'Normandy Four' Conference even though Ukraine 'prepared very carefully'
(Baonghean) - Ukrainian President Zelensky admitted that he had "prepared very carefully" for the discussion on Crimea, but the developments were not as he expected, and expressed confidence that, at the next Normandy Conference in 4 months, the Crimea issue will be brought to the negotiating table.
The summit of the leaders of the “Normandy Four” countries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, ended in Paris, France with a joint press conference on December 10 (Hanoi time). Although there are still many outstanding issues, the summit achieved many positive results.
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| 'Normandy Four' leaders attend a press conference after the summit. Photo: TASS |
“The parties managed to overcome the lull” in the process of resolving the conflict in Donbass - that was the praise for the Normandy Summit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
In particular, they agreed to amend the Constitution of Ukraine based on the Steinmeier formula and expressed their commitment to establishing a full ceasefire in Donbass by the end of 2019. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine “heating up” and developing in the right direction.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky expressed regret that many issues remained unresolved at this meeting in Paris.
Referring to the topic of the Crimean peninsula and outlining Kiev's position within the framework of the Normandy Summit, however, President Zelensky did not receive any response or detailed discussion related to this issue.
President Zelensky admitted that he had “prepared very carefully” for the discussion on Crimea, but the developments were not as he expected, and expressed confidence that, at the next Normandy Conference in four months, the Crimea issue will be brought to the negotiating table.
Gas transit between Russia and Ukraine was also a major issue at the summit. Although the contract for natural gas transit between Kiev and Moscow has been suspended, President Zelensky hopes that the parties will find a new solution in the short term, in which Kiev is ready to consider the possibility of recovering the debt from Gazprom - which the International Court of Arbitration has ruled, not in cash but in natural gas.
President Zelensky called this Ukraine’s “compromise position.” For his part, President Putin said that gasoline prices for industrial consumers in Ukraine could be 25 percent lower if Moscow and Kiev agreed to “honest cooperation.”
This “Normandy Four” conference is very important for all participants. But it has a particularly great political significance for President Zelensky.
No comprehensive peace agreement was expected from the Paris meeting, but both sides hoped that the meeting would help build trust and lay the foundation for further progress between the two neighbors, Russia and Ukraine, which have many disagreements.
