The Normandy format will not be expanded, according to Center for Current Policy (CCP) Director Alexei Chesnakov.
“I think the meeting has yielded concrete results. First of all, the unquestionable importance of the Normandy format for settling the Ukrainian conflict has been affirmed. This means that the call of Poroshenko and Zelensky for scraping this format via expansion has been definitively rejected. There will be no expansion, which means the Minsk Agreements will not be revisited. This is an important, concrete result,” Chesnakov told the media outlet Aktualnye Kommentarii after the presidents of Russia and France, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron, met on August 19.
Preparations for a Normandy format summit are underway, Chesnakov said. “The Normandy format summit will take place in the foreseeable future. That will happen only if the sides coordinate summit decisions in advance and if the decisions made by earlier summits are fulfilled. Assistants to the Normandy format chiefs of states [will carry out preparations for the summit]. They met in Paris in July and plan to meet again before the summit. There were plans to meet in late August or early September. There is no precise date as of yet,” Chesnakov said.
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have resumed consultations, Chesnakov continued. “Actually, Russia and Ukraine have resumed bilateral consultations. They are not quite formal so far. [Consultations] were sporadically held during Poroshenko’s tenure, both between presidential administrations, and in regard to certain economic and even military issues. Resumption of those consultations is a good sign. We should talk. What can be achieved? It is hard to tell for now,” Chesnakov said.
In his opinion, the status of Donbas could be a platform for rapprochement between Russia and Ukraine.
“Donbas should co-exist with Ukraine, roughly as Hong Kong co-exists with China: one people, two systems. Not just for 50 years, but forever. Or Ukraine could have the so-called symbolic sovereignty over Donbas. Something like the UK has over Canada or Australia, where the British queen is the formal chief of state but has no actual power. It would be a good decision,” Chesnakov said.
“Donbas and Ukraine will build rapport if they ever forget the bloodshed and let go of their grudges. If not, the gap between them will widen. When Ukraine comes to its senses, it could make Donbas a joint sphere of interests of Russia and Ukraine. In that case, Donbas will not be the apple of discord, but be a platform for cooperation and joint work. There could be two legal tenders, the ruble and the hryvnia, and joint ventures,” Chesnakov said in response to the question about Russian Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov’s vision of the Minsk process’ outcome.
