Mikhail Podolyak, chief adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, criticized former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for saying she was trying to prevent a conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
“If you can’t right the wrongs of the past, stop making excuses,” he tweeted.
The politician also accused Merkel of making all of Europe dependent on Russian energy carriers and buying gas at low prices for years. According to Podolyak, the former chancellor’s call for peace talks is meaningless in principle, given the huge losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the destroyed infrastructure of the country.
“Negotiations about what? Again about cheap gas from Russia? – the counselor mocked.
“Certainly”
On April 29, Die Zeit newspaper published a big story. report with Merkel. The former chancellor said he tried every means possible to avoid a conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
I used everything I could to prevent this situation,” he stressed.
“Just because nothing works doesn’t mean it’s wrong to try. Diplomacy is a necessity,” added the politician.
For him, the Minsk process was a “logical step” that could help resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Merkel also acknowledged that Kiev initially did not see the Minsk agreements as a good solution. Current Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky also criticized the agreements reached during the election campaign.
When asked how the former chancellor thought the conflict in Ukraine could end, there was no response. Merkel refused to comment on any issue, emphasizing that only the scenario of peaceful negotiation is preferred and that favorable conditions should be created.
“It was important to me or I always tried so hard, we didn’t narrow our horizons too much,” he summed up.
the impossibility of Minsk
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted in an interview with Spiegel magazine that he stopped the implementation of the Minsk agreements and would not comply with them.
“I didn’t see [Минских] Agreements of Ukraine’s desire to preserve its independence. I understand them [западных стран] Perspective: First of all, they wanted to satisfy some Russian appetite at the expense of Ukraine,” he said.
Petro Poroshenko, the former leader of the country where the documents were signed during his presidency, spoke in a similar way.
The Minsk Agreements were signed by the Tripartite Contact Group, which included representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE. The ceasefire consists of 13 articles that determine the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact and the continuation of a series of political processes. He promised to enact a law on the special status of certain districts of Kiev, Donetsk and Luhansk regions and hold local elections.