On Friday 2 September, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini announced that ministers would be discussing how the EU can contribute to the implantation of the Minsk agreements.
She explained on her arrival at a Gymnich-style Foreign Affairs Council that they would be having an open discussion about how the EU can contribute more to the Franco-German work in a collective manner. While the EU has levied sanctions on Russia in connection with implementation of the agreements, it has limited political intervention.
French minister Jean-Marc Ayrault was more reserved about EU involvement, telling EUROPE upon his arrival in the Slovak capital that it is France and Germany that are responsible for the Normandy format and they had noted that the EU was prepared to support the process even more, particularly with observers if or when elections are organised, and also to help Ukraine implement its projects, particularly economic projects. He said this was very important as they needed everyone’s help.
Getting the talks going again
Ayrault said it was true that France and Germany had a very large responsibility and even if one feels reluctance from Russia in the Normandy format, not about the principle, but at the present moment about the incidents in Crimea – he said they were determined to make the agreements live and restore a fruitful dialogue. The minister announced that he and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, were considering travelling to Kiev for talks and to find a way out of the unacceptable situation that he described as not good at all. There is a glimmer of hope, as both ministers pointed out, because the ceasefire introduced to mark the time of children returning to school after the summer holidays seems to be holding - which the French minister said was a good thing and he hoped it was a sign for the restoration of negotiations to ensure the Minsk agreements are really implemented.
Slovak minister Miroslav Lajcak said upon his arrival that he wanted the Minsk agreements to be clarified. He said the problem was that they had different interpretations of the agreements and Moscow’s understanding of the measures is different from Kiev’s. He wanted a common interpretation, which is what he was expecting from the Normandy group, to ensure that people know what has to be done, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and what has to be implemented, measure number 1, number 2, number 3 and so on. He added that there would not be any progress while there were different interpretations, and there had not been much progress in implementation over the past year.
Describing the situation as still of great concern, British foreign minister Boris Johnson explained it was important to keep up the pressure on Russia until progress is seen. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)