The Ukrainian authorities on Saturday January 29 called on Westerners to show ” vigilance and firmness in their negotiations with Russia, accused of having massed troops on the border in preparation for an invasion. The French and German foreign ministers will visit Ukraine on 7 and 8 February. Jean-Yves Le Drian affirms the French desire to show solidarity with Kiev, while working for de-escalation.
A joint visit to Ukraine by the two Foreign Ministers was envisaged. It will therefore take place on February 7 and 8, as Jean-Yves Le Drian announced on Twitter.
I insured today @DmytroKuleba our full support and solidarity with the#Ukraine. Our mobilization continues, particularly in the Normandy format, for the de-escalation of tensions.
I will be going to Ukraine on February 7 and 8 with @ABaerbock.
?? ??@francediplo
— Jean-Yves Le Drian (@JY_LeDrian) January 29, 2022
German and French diplomats will therefore be in Kiev on the eve of the next meeting between Russia and Ukraine supervised by Berlin and Paris, explains Orianne Verdier, from the RFI international service.
The last one took place three days ago in Paris with political advisers. On this occasion, the participants called for the unconditional respect of the ceasefire between Ukrainian armies and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.
A meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government could only be held in this Normandy format if progress had been made during the discussions initiated, which is today premature, explains our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibault.
By announcing his trip this Saturday, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed France’s commitment to a diplomatic solution in this so-called “Normandy” format, these four-party negotiations which have lasted for eight years now to try to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. .
The framework for discussion therefore associates the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia. A legacy of the discussions provoked at the time by the invasion of the Crimea Ukrainian by Russia – Moscow which, since then, behaves there again as a master as in the past.
Do not break the dialogue
Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke today with his Ukrainian counterpart. According to the latter, the two men would have stressed the importance of refraining from measures likely to fuel anxiety.
On Friday, the French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke with his Russian counterpart to urge him to respect the sovereignty of States.
At the same time, the Minister for the Armed Forces declared that France stood ready to deploy hundreds of soldiers to Romania if the Atlantic Alliance so decided.
So, is it possible to put the Normandy format back on track to ease tensions between Kiev, Moscow and Washington? In any case, this is what Paris and Berlin want to try, so that the dialogue is not broken with Russia.
Diese Botschaft, lieber @DmytroKuleba, kann ich nur unterstreichen. Unser Bekenntnis zur Unverletzlichkeit der Ukraine & die Solidarität mit ihren Menschen führen @JY_LeDrian und mich bald erneut nach #kiew. Unsere Anstrengungen im N4-Format für eine Deeskalation setzen wir fort. https://t.co/UARcqD2REG
— Minister Annalena Baerbock (@ABaerbock) January 29, 2022
The joint visit of the German and French Foreign Ministers aims to highlight the solidarity of the two countries and beyond Europe with Ukraine.
Except that pleading for the continuation of the dialogue with Russia constitutes a position which arouses criticism in Eastern Europe, where there are fears of too much flexibility, even too much complacency on the part of France and Germany with regard to Russia.