Germany and France were outraged by the publication of the correspondence between Foreign Ministers Heiko Maas and Jean-Yves Le Drian with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. It is reported by RIA News with reference to statements by representatives of departments.
A similar statement was made by a representative of the French Foreign Ministry. He stressed that this approach is contrary to diplomatic rules and practice, adding that Lavrov’s decision was taken into account.
Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was not surprised by the publication of the correspondence with the Russian Foreign Ministry. She added that she reads many of her letters in the newspapers, and in this sense there is nothing to hide.
On November 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the correspondence of the head of the ministry, Sergei Lavrov, with colleagues from France and Germany, in order to avoid distortions of Moscow’s position regarding the meeting of diplomats in the “Normandy format” and “to prevent further speculation” on this topic. The official representative of the department, Maria Zakharova, said that the publication of the correspondence is proof that the Russian side is not sabotaging the negotiations on Donbass in the “Normandy format”.
It is known that the correspondence was published after the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany Jean-Yves Le Drian and Heiko Maas expressed regret over Russia’s “refusal” from the “Normandy format” to resolve the situation with Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov commented on the decision to publish diplomatic correspondence with the foreign ministers of Germany and France on the organization of negotiations in the “Normandy format”.
He stressed that the published correspondence clearly reflects the essence of the sabotage that the Ukrainian regime is consistently carrying out in relation to the Minsk agreements. According to the minister, Kiev does not want to execute “Minsk”, hoping to rewrite it.
Lavrov added that the meeting in the Normandy format will take place only when Ukraine fulfills the provisions of the Minsk agreements, namely, recognizes the special status of Donbass and enshrines it in the constitution, as well as unconditional amnesties and holding elections in accordance with all the rules based on OSCE principles.
The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova commented on the statement of the representative of the German Foreign Ministry that France and Germany made several specific proposals for a meeting in the “Normandy format”, which Moscow allegedly rejected.
She called on the partners to clarify and make certain statements, from which proposals Russia refused, “to announce the entire list.”
The German Foreign Ministry on Thursday, November 18, said that for several months Germany and France had been working on the implementation of a specific peace agenda based on the Minsk agreements. In Berlin, it was explained that the European partners submitted several ideas for a meeting in the Normandy format in October. At the same time, the diplomats clarified that Russia allegedly refused to accept the initiatives.
Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussion Club, noted that the publication of Lavrov’s correspondence with Le Drian and Maas is an atypical practice, but it is intended to divert unfounded claims to Russian diplomacy.
Lukyanov pointed out that Russia’s desire to show the true state of affairs is associated in general with the crisis of diplomatic relations, when there is no reliable information and countries do not trust each other, and not specifically with relations with France and Germany.
Professor of the Diplomatic Academy Alexander Vavilov in an interview with Sputnik radio expressed the confidence that Paris and Berlin must react calmly, since it is necessary to dot the i’s.
According to Vavilov, the publication of correspondence between foreign ministers is not a novelty in diplomatic practice. He concluded that such incidents had occurred more than once.
Earlier, Lavrov said that the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine could be accelerated if Washington forced Kiev to respect the position of the United States and the UN Security Council on the observance of Minsk-2. According to him, no new dates for the meeting in the “Normandy format” to resolve the situation in Donbass are being discussed.
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