FTo end the war in Ukraine, the head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, is counting on a negotiated solution – also based on the failed Minsk Agreement. “It must not end like it did in the First World War with hundreds of thousands of deaths. It is therefore right to consider how to reach a negotiated solution,” said the long-time foreign policy advisor to Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Funke media group. “And I think you can certainly use the Minsk Agreement as a guide.”
Heusgen referred to statements by the Ukrainian commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Valeriy Saluschnyj, according to which there was a stalemate at the front like on the Western Front in the First World War.
The Minsk Agreement was concluded in 2015 between Russia and Ukraine in the Belarusian capital under German-French mediation. The aim was to pacify the east of Ukraine, which was already under Russian influence at the time. However, most of the commitments were never implemented. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for this.
Unjustified bad reputation
Heusgen now said that he believes it is unjustified that the Minsk Agreement has a bad reputation. It is as good or bad as the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, in which Russia guaranteed the territorial integrity of Ukraine, among others, or the Charter of the United Nations. “Putin kicked all three into the trash, but that doesn’t make them bad. Putin is bad because he doesn’t abide by international law.”
Heusgen continued: “I definitely believe that at the end of this terrible war, Ukraine will leave the field as the winner.” It is important that Putin does not win. His goal was to wipe out Ukraine's statehood and depose the government in Kiev. He shouldn't be able to do that. “He also wants to prevent Ukrainians from freely deciding whether they want to become members of the EU and NATO. Here too, Putin must not have his way.”