In the US people are finally beginning to learn that what happened in Ukraine in 2014, and the fallout consequences thereof, has now become the very epicentre around which the impending impeachment of Trump revolves.
As described by Rachel Maddow,
"The other grounds on which Russia is being sanctioned by our government and others is their invasion of Ukraine and their ongoing war with Ukraine, and it would appear that the Trump administration has been trying to make headway on that front for Russia too." (MSNBC : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)
We now also learn that Zelensky has,
" ... provisionally agreed to hold local elections in the occupied territories of its two easternmost regions once all armed formations leave the area and control is regained over about 400 kilometers of borderland with Russia.
At a briefing in Kyiv on October 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the agreement, brokered in Minsk with Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), paves the way for peace talks with Moscow to end the war in the Donbas that is in its sixth year.
“There cannot be and will not be elections held at gunpoint,” Zelenskiy said. "There will be no capitulation." (RFERL : 2 October 2019) (my emphasis)
What is also now emerging is that there is a so-called "Steinmeier Formula" around which these elections are going to be based.
But who is this "Steinmeier" (right)?
A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Steinmeier became Germany's Foreign Secretary under the first Merkel coalition government in 2005, and then AGAIN in 2013 during Merkel's second coalition government. He remained as Germany's Foreign Secretary until 2019.
In other words, Steinmeier was the Foreign Secretary of Germany when Putin, in 2014, invaded and annexed Ukraine's Crimea, and started his war in the Donbas with Ukraine shortly thereafter.
More significantly, Steinmeier held the post of Chairman of the OSCE in 2016.
And now, suddenly,
"Members of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine – Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Oct. 1 agreed to a peace process known as the “Steinmeier Formula,” green-lighting local elections in the Russian-controlled regions of Donbas." (Kyiv Post : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)
Is it therefore at all surprising that,
"German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (left) said the approval of the Steinmeier formula opens the doors of the summit in the Normandy format, the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Germany reports.
"I am pleased that the constructive atmosphere during the Tripartite Contact Group in Minsk has led to such much-anticipated progress today. This opens the door to the Normandy summit and other stages of implementation of the Minsk agreements", - said Maas." (112 UA : 2 October 2019) (my emphasis)
So what has now happened to the Minsk2 proposals, which ALSO sets out the pre-conditions for the holding of elections in the Donbas?
(9) Restore control of the state border to the Ukrainian government in the whole conflict zone, which has to start on the first day after the local election and end after the full political regulation (local elections in particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts based on the law of Ukraine and Constitutional reform) by the end of 2015, on the condition of fulfillment of Point 11 – in consultations and in agreement with representatives of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group.
(10) Pullout of all foreign armed formations, military equipment, and also mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine under OSCE supervision. Disarmament of all illegal groups.
(11) Constitutional reform in Ukraine, with a new constitution to come into effect by the end of 2015, the key element of which is decentralisation (taking into account peculiarities of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, agreed with representatives of these districts), and also approval of permanent legislation on the special status of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in accordance with the measures spelt out in the attached footnote,[note 1] by the end of 2015.
(12) Based on the Law of Ukraine "On temporary Order of Local Self-Governance in Particular Districts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts", questions related to local elections will be discussed and agreed upon with representatives of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group. Elections will be held in accordance with relevant OSCE standards and monitored by OSCE/ODIHR.
(13) Intensify the work of the Trilateral Contact Group including through the establishment of working groups on the implementation of relevant aspects of the Minsk agreements. They will reflect the composition of the Trilateral Contact Group.
But where is this mystical "Steinmeier Formula" that has suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
According to Petro Poroshenko, former president of Ukraine,
"Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's ex-president, MP from European Solidarity faction said that the Steinmeier formula did not exist. He stated this at the Rendez-vous show on Channel 5 on September 21.
"No Steinmeier agreement exists in nature. There is no Steinmeier agreement. There is no Steinmeier formula supposedly agreed with someone," Poroshenko said." (112 UA : 22 September 2019) (my emphasis)
[Poroshenko] I want to tell you, this is the first time I’m telling you about the last meeting in Berlin (12 April 2019) with Putin, Merkel, the French president and your humble servant.
Putin: When Putin said: we had Steinmeier’s formula written by Lavrov.
Poroshenko: I say: I'm sorry, there’s a letter from two ministers of Foreign Affairs of France and Germany, where they state that this is Steinmeier’s formula. Please take a look.
Putin: He, Putin, takes this letter, reads and says: no, it’s not at all what Lavrov wrote on the Steinmeier formula for me.
Poroshenko: I say: sorry, but Lavrov will write nothing on it. Moreover, Steinmeier himself sits at this table and you can ask him, Mr. Putin.
Putin: I won’t ask him, you re-advocated him, we will be based on our proposals - this is the style of Russia’s negotiation," Poroshenko told. (ibid 112 UA)
Now it may be that, as a former member of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, Steinmeier would have participated in drawing up the above proposals (9) - (13) as laid out in the Minsk2 protocols.
If so, we then have to ask ourselves,
" I won’t ask him [Steinmeier], you re-advocated him, we will be based on our proposals - this is the style of Russia’s negotiation,"
and yet, we now have the current German Foreign minister, Heiko Maas, giving credence to the existence of the "Steinmeier Formula", as penned by Sergei Lavrov (left), that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister of Putin.
And we now have Zelensky stating that,
"The 'Steinmeier formula' should be incorporated in a new law on special status [the law on special provisions of local self-government in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions], which is not ready yet," Zelensky said. (UNIAN : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)
Which brings us back to Rachel Maddow, who is now reporting that,
"The other grounds on which Russia is being sanctioned by our government and others is their invasion of Ukraine and their ongoing war with Ukraine, and it would appear that the Trump administration has been trying to make headway on that front for Russia too" (ibid Rachel Maddow)
Is Zelensky also trying to make headway for Putin in the Donbas?
(to be continued)
As described by Rachel Maddow,
"The other grounds on which Russia is being sanctioned by our government and others is their invasion of Ukraine and their ongoing war with Ukraine, and it would appear that the Trump administration has been trying to make headway on that front for Russia too." (MSNBC : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)
Maddow Part 1
Maddow Part 2
" ... provisionally agreed to hold local elections in the occupied territories of its two easternmost regions once all armed formations leave the area and control is regained over about 400 kilometers of borderland with Russia.At a briefing in Kyiv on October 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the agreement, brokered in Minsk with Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), paves the way for peace talks with Moscow to end the war in the Donbas that is in its sixth year.
“There cannot be and will not be elections held at gunpoint,” Zelenskiy said. "There will be no capitulation." (RFERL : 2 October 2019) (my emphasis)
What is also now emerging is that there is a so-called "Steinmeier Formula" around which these elections are going to be based.
But who is this "Steinmeier" (right)?
A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Steinmeier became Germany's Foreign Secretary under the first Merkel coalition government in 2005, and then AGAIN in 2013 during Merkel's second coalition government. He remained as Germany's Foreign Secretary until 2019.In other words, Steinmeier was the Foreign Secretary of Germany when Putin, in 2014, invaded and annexed Ukraine's Crimea, and started his war in the Donbas with Ukraine shortly thereafter.
More significantly, Steinmeier held the post of Chairman of the OSCE in 2016.
And now, suddenly,
"Members of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine – Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Oct. 1 agreed to a peace process known as the “Steinmeier Formula,” green-lighting local elections in the Russian-controlled regions of Donbas." (Kyiv Post : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)
Is it therefore at all surprising that,
"German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (left) said the approval of the Steinmeier formula opens the doors of the summit in the Normandy format, the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Germany reports."I am pleased that the constructive atmosphere during the Tripartite Contact Group in Minsk has led to such much-anticipated progress today. This opens the door to the Normandy summit and other stages of implementation of the Minsk agreements", - said Maas." (112 UA : 2 October 2019) (my emphasis)
So what has now happened to the Minsk2 proposals, which ALSO sets out the pre-conditions for the holding of elections in the Donbas?
(9) Restore control of the state border to the Ukrainian government in the whole conflict zone, which has to start on the first day after the local election and end after the full political regulation (local elections in particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts based on the law of Ukraine and Constitutional reform) by the end of 2015, on the condition of fulfillment of Point 11 – in consultations and in agreement with representatives of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group.
(10) Pullout of all foreign armed formations, military equipment, and also mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine under OSCE supervision. Disarmament of all illegal groups.
(11) Constitutional reform in Ukraine, with a new constitution to come into effect by the end of 2015, the key element of which is decentralisation (taking into account peculiarities of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, agreed with representatives of these districts), and also approval of permanent legislation on the special status of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in accordance with the measures spelt out in the attached footnote,[note 1] by the end of 2015.
(12) Based on the Law of Ukraine "On temporary Order of Local Self-Governance in Particular Districts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts", questions related to local elections will be discussed and agreed upon with representatives of particular districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group. Elections will be held in accordance with relevant OSCE standards and monitored by OSCE/ODIHR.
(13) Intensify the work of the Trilateral Contact Group including through the establishment of working groups on the implementation of relevant aspects of the Minsk agreements. They will reflect the composition of the Trilateral Contact Group.
But where is this mystical "Steinmeier Formula" that has suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
According to Petro Poroshenko, former president of Ukraine,
"Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine's ex-president, MP from European Solidarity faction said that the Steinmeier formula did not exist. He stated this at the Rendez-vous show on Channel 5 on September 21."No Steinmeier agreement exists in nature. There is no Steinmeier agreement. There is no Steinmeier formula supposedly agreed with someone," Poroshenko said." (112 UA : 22 September 2019) (my emphasis)
[Poroshenko] I want to tell you, this is the first time I’m telling you about the last meeting in Berlin (12 April 2019) with Putin, Merkel, the French president and your humble servant.
Putin: When Putin said: we had Steinmeier’s formula written by Lavrov.
Poroshenko: I say: I'm sorry, there’s a letter from two ministers of Foreign Affairs of France and Germany, where they state that this is Steinmeier’s formula. Please take a look.
Putin: He, Putin, takes this letter, reads and says: no, it’s not at all what Lavrov wrote on the Steinmeier formula for me.
Poroshenko: I say: sorry, but Lavrov will write nothing on it. Moreover, Steinmeier himself sits at this table and you can ask him, Mr. Putin.
Putin: I won’t ask him, you re-advocated him, we will be based on our proposals - this is the style of Russia’s negotiation," Poroshenko told. (ibid 112 UA)
Now it may be that, as a former member of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, Steinmeier would have participated in drawing up the above proposals (9) - (13) as laid out in the Minsk2 protocols.
If so, we then have to ask ourselves,
- "Is the current president of Ukraine, Volodmyr Zelensky, fully conversant with the conditions laid out in the Minsk2 proposals regarding the holding of elections in the Donbas?
- "Is president Zelensky accepting Lavrov's interpretation of those Minsk2 proposals, which Putin is now presenting to the world as the elusive "Steinmeier Formula" for elections in the Donbas?
" I won’t ask him [Steinmeier], you re-advocated him, we will be based on our proposals - this is the style of Russia’s negotiation,"
and yet, we now have the current German Foreign minister, Heiko Maas, giving credence to the existence of the "Steinmeier Formula", as penned by Sergei Lavrov (left), that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister of Putin.And we now have Zelensky stating that,
"The 'Steinmeier formula' should be incorporated in a new law on special status [the law on special provisions of local self-government in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions], which is not ready yet," Zelensky said. (UNIAN : 1 October 2019) (my emphasis)
Which brings us back to Rachel Maddow, who is now reporting that,
"The other grounds on which Russia is being sanctioned by our government and others is their invasion of Ukraine and their ongoing war with Ukraine, and it would appear that the Trump administration has been trying to make headway on that front for Russia too" (ibid Rachel Maddow)
Is Zelensky also trying to make headway for Putin in the Donbas?
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