As anticipated (see EDM, February 26), the “Normandy” meeting on March 3–4, in Paris, cornered Ukraine to extract its acceptance of “elections” in the Russian-occupied territory. German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier did almost all the hectoring; his French counterpart, Jean-Marie Ayrault, provided the echo, while Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, seemed content to watch almost aloof, with minimal comments.
According to Lavrov’s account, “Steinmeier and Ayrault proposed that ‘the sides’ [Kyiv and Donetsk-Luhansk] agree with each other on holding local elections by June or July. We were ready to support this proposal, but the Ukrainian side asked them not …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation