Merkel Expresses Uncertainty Over Ukraine Peace Deal
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MUNICH, Germany—The diplomatic scramble to calm the Ukraine crisis burst into the open here on Saturday, as German Chancellor
clashed with Western officials over whether the West should deliver weapons to Ukraine.
Ms. Merkel, who held emergency talks in Kyiv and Moscow in recent days, pledged to keep pushing for a deal to calm the fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, which has claimed more than 5,000 lives. But she warned that despite what her spokesman described as constructive talks in Moscow on Friday, there was no guarantee that Russian President
Vladimir Putin
would make good on any pledges to halt the conflict.
“I say also after the talks yesterday in Moscow, it is uncertain whether they will be successful,” she said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference to an audience that included U.S. Vice President
and Ukrainian President
Petro Poroshenko.
“But it is from my perspective and the perspective of the French president certainly worth trying.”
After Ms. Merkel spoke, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov
voiced optimism about the peace talks, despite harshly criticizing the U.S. for fomenting the conflict in Ukraine.
“We believe there is every chance to reach a result and agree on recommendations that will allow all sides to truly resolve this conflict,” he said.
A few hours later, Mr. Biden said he was there to talk about the “fundamental principle of a Europe whole and free” and said the U.S. believes there should be no “spheres of influence” in Europe and that all countries have a sovereign right to choose their own alliances.
“America and Europe are being tested. President Putin has to understand as he has changed so has our focus,” Mr. Biden said, adding that Mr. Putin has “promised peace” and “delivered tanks.”
While he asserted that the U.S. doesn’t believe there is a military solution, he said Washington also doesn’t believe Russia has a right to support separatists in eastern Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian people have a right to defend themselves,” Mr. Biden said.
The comments were part of a whirlwind diplomacy effort over the Ukraine crisis. Ms. Merkel and French President
François Hollande
unexpectedly flew to Kyiv on Thursday to sound out Mr. Poroshenko on a new peace deal. The French and German leaders then negotiated with Mr. Putin in Moscow on Friday night.
Speaking separately to labor unions in Russia’s Black Sea town of Sochi on Saturday, Mr. Putin said Western sanctions have had a negative impact on the country’s economy, but said Moscow “won’t wage a war with anyone and will instead cooperate with everyone,” local news agencies reported.
In a question-and-answer session after her speech, several audience members, including Sen.
(R, Tenn.), confronted Ms. Merkel about her opposition to providing arms to help the Ukrainian military resist the separatists. The White House has been openly considering such a step, which Moscow said would amount to a threat to Russian national security, even as the Kremlin continues to deny supporting the rebels in eastern Ukraine.
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But Ms. Merkel warned that sending weapons would only lead to an escalation of the conflict and that Mr. Putin couldn’t be expected to back down. She said the West had to be patient, noting her own experience growing up behind the Iron Curtain in Communist East Germany and the fact that it took decades to end the Cold War.
“The problem is I cannot imagine a situation in which an improved arming of the Ukrainian army leads to President Putin being so impressed that he believes he will lose militarily,” Ms. Merkel said. “This cannot be won militarily. That is the bitter truth. The international community must think of something else.”
Mr. Biden didn’t make a direct reference to proposals discussed by U.S. officials of providing lethal defensive arms to the Ukrainian military.
While the U.S. and European officials are increasingly divided over whether to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, Mr. Biden said the allies should remain united.
“We need to remain resolute and united in our support of Ukraine,” he said.
Ms. Merkel is scheduled to fly to Washington on Sunday for a meeting with President
at the White House on Monday, with the Ukraine crisis high on the agenda. Mr. Biden is set to speak in Munich later on Saturday. After speaking, Ms. Merkel headed into a meeting with Mr. Biden, Mr. Poroshenko and Secretary of State John Kerry.
In her speech, Ms. Merkel said Russia’s actions in Ukraine were in “stark contradiction” to its international obligations. But she also emphasized the possibility of compromise, noting diplomacy with Russia over the Iran nuclear talks and the removal of chemical weapons from Syria show that co-operation with Moscow on important international challenges was possible.
‘This cannot be won militarily. That is the bitter truth. The international community must think of something else.’
Ms. Merkel’s spokesman described the talks with Mr. Putin in Moscow on Friday as “constructive and substantial,” and said the countries involved were working on a new “joint document” on how to implement a peace deal reached in Minsk, Belarus, in September.
The Minsk agreements—co-signed by Russia—called for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of foreign troops, the return of Ukrainian government control over its side of the Russia-Ukraine border, and steps leading to greater autonomy for the separatist regions.
Western officials have expressed deep skepticism about Mr. Putin’s sincerity, however. As the Moscow meeting approached, Mr. Biden said Russia was trying to “redraw the map of Europe.”
Speaking later Saturday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, SC) strongly criticized Ms. Merkel’s stance on weapons.
Addressing the German leader, he said he hopes Ms. Merkel “remembers all the sacrifices that were made by so many over so long a period of time to achieve what we have today in Germany.”
He said the German government was turning its back “on a struggling democracy” by refusing to meet Ukraine’s request for arms.
—Laurence Norman and Julian E. Barnes in Munich, and Andrey Ostroukh in Moscow contributed to this article.
Write to Anton Troianovski at anton.troianovski@wsj.com
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