Putin is not ready to compromise, experts say
The meeting of the presidents Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko in Minsk showed that the Kremlin is trying to strengthen military positions in Donbas, but continues to “play games with the West,” experts said.
“He [Putin] understands that at the moment he cannot win or lose, so he’s trying to strengthen his positions. More Russian equipment is being transported to eastern Ukraine, and fights are becoming fiercer,” Volodymyr Fesenko, director of the Kyiv-based Penta Centre of Applied Political Studies, told SETimes.
“The Russian leader wants to scare everyone into agreeing on the terms of Russia. Same as it was in Georgia [in 2008]. Therefore, we now have only one acceptable option — to hold positions in Donbas. If our army is successful, it will be possible to get more concrete negotiations.”
The face-to face meeting between the two leaders in the capital of Belarus on August 26th lasted more than two hours. They discussed the need for Ukrainian borders to be closed to stop the movement of equipment, mercenaries and ammunition to the country.
“It is agreed to immediately begin the consultations for guards whose purpose will be to ensure the implementation of this agreement,” Poroshenko said after the meeting.
The presidents also agreed to start consultations between Ukrainian and Russian military chiefs.
“It is an attempt to provide a background for the peace process,” Poroshenko said.
Peace and security were the main topics of the meeting, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said.
“We called for a cease-fire, associated with good governance boundaries. It is important to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches people in a proper manner, in full compliance with international law and, of course, there must be a political process,” Ashton said.
Experts said there was no expectation of a diplomatic breakthrough or immediate peace as a result of the meeting, but any negotiations are better than war.
“We must realise that Putin plays his game, squinting at the fool saying that Russia is not involved in the conflict,” Sergiy Solodky, first deputy director of the Institute of World Policy, told SETimes.
Solodky said the Ukrainian government has a strategy and needs to follow it to achieve its goals.
“First, let’s exchange hostages. We want them to be released. And a certain decision was reached in Minsk,” Solodky said. “Second is a border. This is a fundamental issue that was discussed at the meeting. If we can close the border, it will be our victory.”
It all depends on how sincere Putin was in his statements, Fesenko said.
“Ukraine wants peace and to preserve the territorial integrity. Russia does not want this,” Fesenko said. “Putin wants to keep control over Donbas. We cannot get a compromise after only one round of negotiations. Parties shall first determine the general provisions, modify their working groups and only then the leaders can claim all this. It is only the first stage now. These negotiations are reconnaissance.”
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