Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba named the main positive news on the fact of yesterday's Normandy meeting in Paris at the level of political advisors. According to him, it is that Russia wants to discuss a peaceful settlement in Donbas.
This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing The Guardian.
According to him, the agreement on a new meeting shows that Moscow wants a diplomatic solution to the current crisis.
"The good news is that the advisers have agreed to meet in Berlin in two weeks, which means that for at least the next two weeks Russia is likely to stay on the diplomatic path," Kuleba said.
At the same time, he urged the West to strengthen military and defense cooperation with Kiev.
"Although I am a big fan of soft power, I am afraid it is time to use hard power," the minister added.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also named four areas of Russian deterrence amid the threat of an invasion of Ukraine. He urged to focus on them.
"The first (factor) is politically coordinated, consistent messages from Russia that its potential invasion of Ukraine will fail, will be met with very tough political and economic resistance from our Western partners," he said.
The second factor the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called the preparation of economic sanctions against Russia.
"We have heard many important and inspiring messages about the price that Russia will have to pay. Unfortunately, these messengers have recently been weakened by public discussions about sanctions that will not be imposed on Russia. Of course, this inspires Putin, and he may come to the conclusion that the sanctions he may face will actually prove tolerable," he said.
The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that such messages must stop. Ukraine hopes to develop a very strong and consistent package of economic measures against Russia that will best serve the purpose of containing Russia.
Also, according to Kuleba, the third element would be to strengthen military and defense cooperation with Ukraine.
"Every country can do something with the political will," the Ukrainian foreign minister stressed, expressing gratitude to the Danish authorities for supporting Ukraine's defense sector.
The fourth factor, according to Kuleba, is support for Ukraine's economic and financial stability, which the Russian government is trying to undermine.
"We cannot allow Russia to succeed in this," Kuleba said.
He said the U.S. and other countries are now looking at various measures to help Ukraine in this aspect.
"If we succeed on all four points, we will succeed in this confrontation, we will not allow Putin to destroy the security of Europe," the Ukrainian foreign minister concluded.
Recall, according to experts, the sanctions against the Kremlin, which may be introduced by the West in the case of a new Russian invasion of Ukraine, can especially affect the state budget of the Russian Federation, particularly sensitive will be a blow to the basis of Russian exports - oil and gas.
