The Russian Foreign Ministry disclosed the contents of the correspondence between 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”. The message appeared on Wednesday, November 17, on website departments.
The text says that recently the position of Russia, its role in the internal Ukrainian settlement and approaches to the holding of a possible ministerial meeting in the “Normandy format” have been distorted.
In a letter dated October 29, 2021, Lavrov wrote to his colleagues that he would like to reaffirm the importance of continuing joint efforts within the framework of the Normandy format to help resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Lavrov also noted that he was sending a Russian draft “such a document, which, as it seems to us, reflects the realities and main tasks of the peace process.”
In the next letter, dated November 6, the Russian minister writes that he received a message from his colleagues on the October 29 proposals and is disappointed with them. In the latest letter, which was sent on November 16, Lavrov notes that Moscow is increasingly faced with a distortion of Russia’s position and its role in resolving the internal Ukrainian conflict.
In addition, in this letter, Lavrov noted that he was forced to take an unconventional step – to make the correspondence public.
On November 15, it was reported that 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. “We express regret that Russia has repeatedly refused to meet at the level of foreign ministers in the Normandy format, and once again express our readiness to meet and interact constructively and substantively,” the joint ministerial statement said.
Before that, 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. He also announced the position of the Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns on Donbass. According to Lavrov, Burns reaffirmed the importance of fulfilling the Minsk agreements and observing the special status of Donbass.
At the end of October, Ambassador to Russia Gez Andreas von Geir said that Berlin and Moscow are already preparing a meeting in the “Normandy format” of the foreign ministers of Germany and Russia, but the date of the talks has not yet been determined.
At the beginning of November, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian made a proposal to hold a meeting in the “Normandy format” during the G20 summit, but he could not answer the question of what its participants should come to. The same information was previously confirmed by a RIA Novosti source at the French Foreign Ministry. At the same time, Lavrov later denied plans to hold a meeting.
The situation in Donbass escalated on October 26. For the first time, the Ukrainian armed forces used the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone in battle. The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said that the Ukrainian military had occupied the village of Staromaryevka in the “gray zone”. Kiev has not officially confirmed the information.
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