Before the Munich Security Conference, on February 12, this year’s first Normandy format meeting of foreign ministers was hosted. The Day turned to Andrii Melnyk, Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, to comment on the meeting, as well as on the reaction of German politicians and media to the speeches by the Russian prime minister and foreign minister at this major event.
Andrii MELNYK, Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany, Berlin:
“Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev’s speech at the Munich conference was a real ‘cold shower,’ and especially so for our German friends. The organizers hoped that the Russian head of government’s participation will initiate a kind of detente in relations with Russia, but these hopes have turned out to be illusory once again. Almost without exception, the German media interpreted Medvedev’s theses regarding the ‘third global shake-up’ and a new Cold War as a blatant blackmail and outright intimidation of Western partners. However, experts are united in believing that Russia will certainly lose such a Cold War. Newspaper Bild very aptly outlined objective reasons behind unavoidable defeat of the Kremlin today. With the Russian prime minister’s bellicose speech which deeply shocked the participants forming a background, the passionate speech delivered by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, which dealt with Russian aggression and the importance of preserving the unity and solidarity to oppose it, the speech which, incidentally, was the only one to provoke applause in the hall, was essentially the consolidated response of the whole international community to unprecedented new challenges to international security.
“As for the Normandy format meeting of ministers, it was the shortest so far and lasted just 36 minutes. Therefore, hardly anyone expected it to achieve any breakthroughs. However, it is important that the meeting has demonstrated that the peace process continues. We thank our German partners, and personally Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, for this initiative. In effect, the only agreement reached is to hold full Normandy format talks in Paris in early March with the participation of the new foreign minister of France. Before the meeting, the head of the OSCE election observation mission should prepare concrete proposals for a radical improvement in the security situation. The ministers should also consider new proposals for local elections in the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine. However, Sergei Lavrov’s unchangingly tough rhetoric in Munich gives little reason to hope for a really constructive position of Russia. Thus, Ukraine expects that political pressure which our Western partners exert on the Russian government will be strengthened. Otherwise, no progress should be expected. There is a sense that the German government understands it perfectly well.”
