It was the U.S. that undermined the Minsk Agreements, which, if observed, probably would have prevented the Ukraine-Russia war. From Lucas Leiroz at strategic-culture.su:
In reality, the Germans and other Europeans were all, like the Russians, genuinely interested in achieving a lasting peace in Ukraine.
The current conflict in Ukraine is undoubtedly a direct result of the failure of the so-called “Minsk Protocol” – a set of agreements signed between the separatist republics of Donbass and the Ukrainian government, mediated by the Russian Federation and the European Union.
Instead of ending or at least “freezing” the conflict, the diplomatic dialogue in Minsk had as its greatest success only a slight decrease in the intensity of hostilities. The task to “stop the war” was never accomplished, with clashes in the Russian-majority regions lasting for eight years until Moscow’s intervention in February 2022.
A series of questions arise from these reflections. The reasons for the diplomatic failure still do not seem completely clear among public opinion. But it is necessary to remember that, according to former German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, there was never a real “failure” to fulfill the objectives of the Protocol. For her, the Agreements always had the real intention of simply “giving time” to Ukraine, enabling Kiev to prepare for combat against Moscow in the near future.
The explanation given by Merkel, if taken as true, actually helps to understand the reasons for the escalation of the crisis in Ukraine. If everything was nothing more than a Western plan to train and arm Kiev, then we would have in Minsk a kind of “Molotov-Ribbentrop 2.0” – that is, a pact with the objective, not of achieving definitive peace, but of relieving tensions temporarily and allow arming and preparation for war on both sides. However, this does not seem to be the opinion of other officials who participated in the diplomatic process in 2014.
Recently, I had the opportunity to work as a correspondent in the conflict zone in Donbass. During a visit to the Lugansk People’s Republic, I spoke with several local leaders, being able to collect valuable data and ground information inaccessible to any Western citizen. One of these meetings was with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lugansk, Vladislav Deinego, with whom I had a long and fruitful conversation on issues related to global geopolitics and the recent history of the Donbass region.
