Kurt Volker - about peacekeepers in Donbass, Javelin missiles and reforms in Ukraine

Kurt Volker, the special representative of the US State Department for Ukraine, who is primarily concerned with the search for solutions to resolve the conflict in the Donbas, gave an interview to a number of publications in late January. In conversations with journalists, he touched on the status of the conflict in the Donbass region, the prospects for the introduction of peacekeepers in the region, the allocation of American missile systems to Ukraine, the future of anti-Russian sanctions and many other issues.

We chose the most important and interesting statements of the diplomat.

About peacekeepers

The US will not agree to Russia's proposed format for the introduction of a peacekeeping mission in Donbass, since it cannot ensure peace in the region and protect Ukrainian borders, Volker said in an exclusive interview.Radio Liberty".

Russia proposed another concept - the so-called protective force, which would protect only OSCE observers. It could not guarantee security in the region, but it would negotiate with the two forces under its control that are present there. It does not provide for border control. Therefore, the endless flow of Russian forces and weapons across the international border would continue.

Therefore, it is not what the United States or the UN will agree. After all, this concept does not guarantee security, but only exacerbates the conflict. And no troop-contributing country will want to be in a situation where there is an open border and puppet groups.

The United States, France and Germany offered to accept such a proposal as a basis, but turn it into a peacekeeping mission ... Now there are very different concepts of what we would like to see in the end. Recalling the meeting with Surkov in November, I will say that this is what we stopped at in the discussion: Russia offers not what the United States and the West would like to see.

Depriving Russia of the veto at the UN

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin said that by officially recognizing Russia as a party to the conflict in the Donbas, this country could be denied the right of veto in the UN Security Council, which the permanent members of this organization have. However, Volker considers such a scenario unlikely and does not consider such a course of action at all.

Firstly, it is very important to communicate with Russia directly. She plays a key role in this conflict. And if we want to solve it, we need to work with Russia. She must agree to end the conflict. Therefore, dialogue is very important. When it comes to the UN, of course, Russia has the right of veto. I don't think anyone will try to change this. We need to focus on finding a way that Russia, Ukraine and the rest will accept - everyone will come to agreement and understanding.

About Javelin rockets

Kurt Volker said the United States is actively working on preparing for the transfer of missile systems to Ukraine Javelins, noting that this is a long process that will take at least 6 months. At the same time, the diplomat stressed that these weapons are unlikely to find their use in the Donbass, since they are intended solely for defense against tank attack, and not for attack or other types of hostilities.

I want to emphasize that this is defense equipment. It is only useful when there is a tank attack. Then they can be neutralized. These are exclusively defensive weapons, not for attack and not for use on the conflict line. And I think Ukraine largely shares this position. We only hope to fill some of the gaps in Ukraine's defense capabilities to prevent the conflict from further flaring up.

About the compensation by Russia of the losses brought to Ukraine by the conflict in the Donbass

Volker believes that it is too early to talk about the reconstruction of the Donbass territories and compensation for losses - first we need to restore peace in these territories.

I think the most important thing is to make sure that there is peace, security and a normal life for the people who live there. And that the humanitarian tragedy that was formed there is no longer there. That Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity restored. After that we can take care of the restoration, reconstruction. Undoubtedly, these territories should be part of Ukraine. Thriving part.

Volker emphasized that compensation for losses is “a topic for the future,” but now “we need to stop the conflict and take care of people.”

On the status of the conflict in the Donbass

Volker is sure that no civil war is unfolding in eastern Ukraine, since there are many other regions in the country with a large number of Russian-speaking people, but there is no discrimination or conflict there. This diplomat said in an interview DW.

So the conflict affected only one part of the east of Ukraine. Why? Because it began with a hybrid war, with the invasion of Russia in Ukraine. There were created various organizations that were empowered, and armed militias, which Russia trains, fully supports and provides weapons. It continues to this day.

He believes that the Kremlin did this in order to bring more friendly Russian politicians to power in Kiev in order to keep Ukraine in its zone of influence, but the result was the opposite, turning into a tragedy for both countries.

But in the end it caused the opposite effect. The indignation provoked by this invasion rallied Ukraine more than ever, contributed to the formation of national identity and made the country more pro-Western. I believe that everything ended in tragedy, since many people have suffered as a result of this conflict. More than ten thousand people died and more than a million people became internally displaced persons, but Russia did not achieve its goals in Ukraine. This is very sad to watch.

About plans of Russia

Despite the fact that the whole world knows that Russia is a direct participant in the conflict in the Donbass, Volker believes that it is inappropriate to call this confrontation a war, because, in his opinion, Russia does not set as its goal the occupation of the entire territory of Ukraine.

I do not believe that Russia has intentions to occupy the entire territory of Ukraine by military means. I don't think her goal is this. However, Russia is directly involved. At first, she occupied the Crimea and declared its annexation, and then entered there and introduced her authorized forces, as well as occupied part of eastern Ukraine. That's what she actually does. But I think that it pursues rather political goals: to destabilize the country, influence Kiev’s policies and try to drive a wedge between Ukraine and the West. I do not think it works, but I think that the reason for the tension was partly the case.

About Western sanctions against Russia

Despite the economic sanctions that are directly tied to the implementation of the Russia agreements in Minsk, Russia is in no hurry to fulfill the conditions of these agreements. According to Volcker, anti-Russian sanctions have not yet worked in this regard, but they work in the long term.

I think many people in Russia realize that sanctions negatively affect their country. And it will affect even more if restrictive measures are renewed further. And so it will be: the EU regularly extends sanctions, the US will add new names to the sanctions list. I think everyone understands that over time this will harm Russia. And in Russia they want the sanctions to be lifted, but the condition for their cancellation is the actual implementation of the Minsk agreements.

On reforms and corruption in Ukraine

Volker sees progress in the development of Ukraine, but it is much slower than the western partners of the country would like, and the fight against corruption raises many questions from an American diplomat.

Ukraine has made more progress in implementing some reforms over the past three years than in the last 25 years, so this is a positive sign. But on the other hand, this is far from enough if you consider how much more you need to do. Ukraine should recover from the costs of conflict, the economy should grow rapidly. Ukraine should attract foreign investment. But the fact is that we do not see decisive steps to fight corruption and progress in reforms in order for businesses to have confidence.

Why Europe wants to forget about the conflict in the Donbass

I think that many European governments do not want the conflict to become a constant obstacle to cooperation with Russia. They are unhappy with the actions of Russia, are unhappy with the invasion, impose sanctions, but at the same time do not want this to become something permanent. And so they would like this problem to disappear. But Russia persists, and there’s no way around it. That is why I think that we should get this problem out of the garbage bin and return it to the front pages to resolve it, otherwise we will never reach the situation when our European allies can build more normal relations with Russia. We must resolutely tackle this and we must create a situation in which Russia will have a desire to end the conflict.

Read also on ForumDaily:

America Trump: what Ukraine got and what to hope for next

Kurt Volker: How Trump Man Solves the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine

The Economist: Ukraine is bursting at the seams; The West must make it fight corruption

Bloomberg: The West has supported the wrong person in Ukraine

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