On Tuesday, 10 December, during a visit to Paris, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell applauded the progress made the day before during the ‘Normandy’ format summit (Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine).
“It is no small thing to have a ceasefire on the entire line of engagement [and] to undertake a new disengagement of forces [and] the exchange of prisoners, and this will undoubtedly lead to improved living conditions for the inhabitants on both sides of the line of contact”, he specified during a press conference with the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian.
In his opinion, the meeting is “a first step towards resolving the conflict”.
A ceasefire by the end of the year
In a statement released the day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel committed to “a full and comprehensive implementation of the ceasefire, strengthened by the implementation of all necessary ceasefire support measures, before the end of the year 2019”.
Beyond the ceasefire, the parties pledge to support an agreement within the Trilateral Contact Group on three additional disengagement areas with the aim of disengaging forces and equipment by the end of March 2020.
The leaders also encourage the release and exchange of persons taken prisoner in the context of the conflict to be facilitated “by the end of the year” based on the principle of “all for all”. Moreover, they will support an agreement within the working group, within 30 days, on new crossing points along the line of contact, primarily based on humanitarian criteria.
The development and implementation of an updated demining plan has also been put forward.
On a more political level, Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany have expressed their interest in an agreement to be reached within the ‘Normandy’ format and the Trilateral Contact Group on “all the legal aspects of the Special Order of Local Self-Government—special status—of Certain Areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions”, as provided for in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
According to the leaders, it is necessary to integrate the “Steinmeier Formula”—which provides for the holding of free local elections in the two separatist republics—into Ukrainian legislation, in accordance with the version adopted in the context of the ‘Normandy’ format and the Trilateral Contact Group.
Rendez-vous clause
The leaders agreed to have a meeting “within the next four months” specifically regarding the political and security conditions for the local elections. In the meantime, they have instructed their political advisers and foreign ministers to ensure that the agreements reached are implemented. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)