The Ukrainian media rarely meets the media, preferring to communicate via Instagram and Facebook. But this time, it was so important to him that he invited press representatives to his presidency, even though he had to answer questions about Trump's Ukraine scandal, which should not be discussed here.
Selenskyj wanted to explain his view on the possible peace process in the war in eastern Ukraine. For more than five years there is fighting, holding pro-Russian fighters, supported by Moscow, the Donbass occupied. More than 13,000 people have already been killed, according to UN figures. Selenskyj promised to bring peace to his country.
Therefore, in Minsk, the meeting of the so-called contact group of representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian governments as well as of the pro-Russian separatists from Luhansk and Donetsk was looked with great expectation. In Russia, the newspaper Kommersant and state broadcasters already spread the news that the conflicting parties had signed the so-called Steinmeier formula in the Belarusian capital. These are steps for the Donbass, named the Federal President and ex-Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD).
Confirmation by letter
However, Selenskyj said nothing in his press conference - which caused confusion. Only later did it become clear that the representatives did not sign a joint document in Minsk, but handed over letters to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE for short. In it they confirmed "the text of the Steinmeier formula for implementation in the Ukrainian legislation," as the OSCE ambassador Martin Sajdik diplomatically formulated. The text was agreed by representatives of the Normandy format, ie the states of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia, he said.
The so-called Steinmeier formula provides for elections in the Luhansk and Donetsk territories occupied by pro-Russian fighters under OSCE standards under Ukrainian law. If the votes are recognized as fair and democratic, the regions were automatically given a special status, the control of the Ukrainian eastern border would be handed over to Kiev.
But Kiev and Moscow interpret the formula differently, it is about the order of steps:
- Ukraine demands that elections take place only if it first has control of the border with Russia and if pro-Russian fighters and weapons were withdrawn from the Donetsk basin. Thus, Kiev wants to enforce that it has access to the areas and can also compete Ukrainian candidates in the polls. Selenskyj repeated these well-known demands, emphasizing: "There will be no elections under reserve assault rifle runs."
- Russia , on the other hand, demands that elections be held first, then everything else clarified, thus solving the political questions of security policy. Moscow refers to the text of the "Steinmeier formula", in which there are no indications of a withdrawal of troops.
REUTERS
Destroyed building in Awdiyivka: More than five years of fighting
The fact that Selenskyj now presented himself in front of the cameras, confessed to the formula and presented his interpretation for the first time, had two reasons:
First , he turned directly to Russia. Moscow had insisted on the confirmation of the Steinmeier formula by Kiev. At a meeting in Minsk on 18 September, Ukraine had refused to do so. But without the formula, there would be no new Normandy meeting, the Russian leadership had made clear. Even a withdrawal of troops in Solote and Petriwske Moscow was therefore not at that time. This process, called unbundling, is now due to restart on October 7, according to OSCE figures. As early as autumn 2016, both frontlines had been demilitarized, but only for a short time.
Secondly , Selenskyj turned to his people. In recent weeks, the unrest was growing among the Ukrainians, the president left the Donbass with his approval of the Steinmeier formula ultimately Russia. A majority of Ukrainians are opposed to holding elections in Eastern Ukraine under the conditions of the pro-Russian fighters and thus of Moscow. That's why hundreds of nationalists demonstrated before the presidency in the evening.
Selenskyj tried to calm down. He announced to draft a new law for the status of Donbass. The previous one will expire at the end of December. The "Steinmeier formula" will be included in the new one, he announced. This law should be discussed in detail with the involvement of the public, "it will not exceed a red line," said the Ukrainian President. "There will be no surrender." But what exactly should he look like in his opinion, that is, the exact Ukrainian criteria of the formula, a kind of Selensky catalog, he did not say.
Gleb Garanich / REUTERS
Selenskyj on the arrival of the prisoners in Kiev: director Oleg Senstov hugs his daughter
The President continues to enjoy the confidence of the majority of Ukrainians, not least because he brought back 35 former prisoners through an exchange home, including the well-known director Oleg Senstov and the Marines, who were shot at by Russian security officials and arrested in Crimea ,
What does Moscow want?
He has thus brought movement into a possible peace process for the Donbass, wants to free more prisoners. He now has to show Moscow that he is able to negotiate hard, even though Russia knows that he is under pressure to show results.
Unlike his predecessor Petro Poroshenko, Selensky holds the majority in parliament with his party. All the more he must now pay attention to take all those in the struggle for a solution for the Eastern Ukraine, who are afraid of concessions to Russia. These are above all the veterans, Maidan activists and residents especially in the Donbass and at the line of contact between the pro-Russian fighters and the Ukrainian army. He wants to meet with Members of Parliament on Wednesday morning.
More important, though, is the question of why Russia should engage in all this after years of stagnation. A new Normandy meeting, as Selenskyj would like to have this year and proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, would only make sense if there were results that could be announced afterwards.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has already commented positively on the outcome in Minsk. What matters is what you think about it in the Kremlin.