PARIS, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian leader Vladimir Putin will for the
first time hold formal talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky
over the conflict in Ukraine’s east on Monday, in a much-anticipated summit in Paris.
No comprehensive peace deal is expected from the afternoon meeting —
mediated by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel — but diplomats hope that the exercise will help to boost trust between the two men.
Thousands have been killed and one million have fled their homes since
pro-Russia militias in eastern Ukraine launched a bid for independence in
2014 — kicking off a conflict that deepened Russia’s estrangement from the
West.
The separatists seized control of Donetsk and Lugansk regions shortly
after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula.
Diplomats have emphasised that the issue of Crimea — a seizure that gave
Putin a popularity boost but led to international sanctions being imposed —
is not on the table at the summit.
Kiev has made clear its determination to never give up the peninsula,
which the international community still regards as part of Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the Funke newspaper group ahead of the summit “we have to do everything we can… to make progress in the Ukrainian peace process”, and described the conflict as “a festering wound in Europe”.
Maas praised Zelensky for bringing “new momentum” to the talks, adding
that “to make progress with the next difficult steps, Russia needs to make a
move too”.
The goals of Monday’s meeting include agreeing to disband illegal
militias, the departure of foreign fighters from Donetsk and Lugansk and
Ukraine taking back control over its border with Russia, according to a
French presidential source.
Monday’s meeting is the first such summit in three years and seeks to
implement accords signed in Minsk in 2015 that call for the withdrawal of
heavy weapons, the restoration of Kiev’s control over its borders, wider
autonomy, and the holding of local elections.
The summit is a hugely delicate event for everyone involved, but
particularly for Zelensky, who is under pressure not to cede ground to the
Kremlin.
For Macron, the summit is a centrepiece of an increasingly bold foreign
policy he is driving despite troubles at home, where transport workers have
been on strike for days in a dispute over pension reforms.
Macron, who shocked NATO allies this year by declaring the alliance brain
dead, has made clear his belief that Europe needs a strategic partnership
with Russia. — NNN-AGENCIES
