Ukraine has fulfilled all requirements for a new Normandy Four meeting to take place, said Ann Linde, chair of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE).
“At the Paris summit, there was an agreement on a new meeting of leaders under several conditions,” said Linde in an interview with the Evropeyska Pravda news outlet, published on Jan. 20.
“Ukraine has fulfilled all conditions, Russia, unfortunately, hasn’t yet,” added Linde, who is also Sweden’s foreign minister.
The last meeting between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany — known as the Normandy Four — took place in Paris on Dec. 9, 2019. The heads of states agreed on a communiqué which set terms for a new meeting to take place within three months.
Ukraine and Russia were to swap prisoners, disengage militaries near three checkpoints, and open three additional crossing points between Ukraine’s government-controlled territory and Russian-occupied parts of Donbas.
Since the meeting, two prisoner exchanges took place. Ukraine has also built three new checkpoints with banks, social service offices and medical centers. Russian-controlled militants haven’t opened the checkpoints from their side, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as the reason.
Earlier, during a meeting with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Linde said that the OSCE is expecting a new Normandy Four meeting to take place soon.
“The current Normandy format works,” said Linde, despite the Normandy meeting taking place only once since 2016.
Scant progress
In her interview with Evropeyska Pravda, Linde supported the latest ceasefire agreement. She said that both Donbas and Crimea have to be returned to Ukraine and emphasized the need for reforms.
“It is mandatory to adhere to the principle of integrity and unity of Ukraine, which includes Ukrainian Crimea and the city of Sevastopol,” said Linde.
Since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2014, the OSCE launched a monitoring mission to document all ceasefire violations. The OSCE has also been an integral part of the Minsk-hosted Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, which also includes representatives from Ukraine and Russia.
The Group was created to oversee the implementation of provisions agreed on by the Normandy Four. However, over six years since the war began, little progress has been made.
“Even though (the Minsk Group) is criticized in Ukraine, it is doing a great deal to get closer to resolving the conflict, and these efforts deserve support,” said Linde.
“There are still positives from the (Normandy) talks like the truce that has been ongoing since July 27,” she added.
The ceasefire decreased the number of casualties from the Russian proxies’ fire but didn’t halt the war. Russia violated the ceasefire on multiple occasions.
The latest death came on Jan. 12 when Oleh Andriyenko, a soldier with Ukraine’s 56th Motorized Infantry Brigade, was killed in action.
Linde also said that Ukraine needs to emphasize reforms.
“Ukraine is in a dire need of reforms, and the authorities, including the president, are well aware of this,” said Linde.
