On 2 may, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks. This is a continuation of the tradition of attempts a kind of Shuttle diplomacy by Merkel. Despite all the previous failures, because the Chancellor was one of the initiators of the Minsk process, which was to provide a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, it leaves no attempts to make some progress in this matter. In addition, there remain other problems in the relations between the European Union and Russia, associated with the continuation of the war in Syria, and with a variety of intra-European problems.
I think the main purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with the positions existing in Germany and Russia on various issues, and to determine whether there has been any progress.
Current Putin’s statements indicate that he did not wish to withdraw anything and is not ready to make any peace initiatives or easing the situation. He seems to be saying that they are in all directions will stand to the last. In fact, this is the main result of this visit: he showed that Russia at this stage to any full-fledged peace talks and the settlement is not ready.
While all evidence of the inability to change the situation. Some negotiations in the relations with Putin, persuasion, nobody achieved nothing, and he’s not shown a willingness to some kind of negotiations. Also play a role in the upcoming elections of the President of Russia. In fact, Putin indicated that, at least, another year he’s not going to change anything and will continue the existing policy.
This applies not only to the conflict in the East of Ukraine, but also Syria. In addition, Merkel said that Putin is to pay attention to the persecution of homosexuals in Chechnya, but this issue is especially strategic for Russia, remains the only element in the overall positioning.
As a result, the visit confirmed that from the point of view of diplomacy three years of communication with Russia any results has not brought. The EU must either continue to maintain the fiction that they are holding — peace talks and the like — or to look for alternative ways of diplomacy with Russia.
