Ahead of the German chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Moscow and Kyiv on 20 and 22 August, the participants of the international civil society platform CivilMPlus present their opinion regarding further political implications of these visits. Considering that we are just a month ahead of German general elections and Angela Merkel’s planned departure from office, we believe these visits could be serving as a certain legacy for German foreign policy towards the conflict in Ukraine.

CivilMPlus member organizations reiterate the need for German authorities to remain committed towards Ukraine’s sovereignty within its legally recognized borders. We insist that the agenda of the Chancellor’s visit to Moscow include: security issues and condemnation of the ongoing de facto integration of the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions into the Russian political, economic, and cultural sphere, including mass passportization and plans to involve residents of these territories in the upcoming elections to the Russian State Duma. At the same time, the German government must make it clear that the continuation of aggressive actions of Russia’s leadership and the “takeover” of Ukrainian territories is unacceptable.   

The members of the CivilMPlus platform note that a new boost is necessary to make progress in conflict management and resolution, including within the framework of the Normandy and Minsk formats. We would expect the German chancellor to carry the message to the Russian and Ukrainian presidents that Germany is ready at any time to invest more on the highest political level.

We expect a clear signal from the Chancellor to the Russian President about the need to fulfill obligations under the Minsk agreements, taking into account that the Russian Federation is a party, not a mediator to the armed conflict. Among the first urgent steps – measures for the release of conflict-related detainees, and the complete unblocking of the crossing points by the ORDLO representatives to ease the crossing of the contact line for civilians. In general, recognition of Ukraine’s borders and sovereignty remains an international obligation of the authorities of the Russian Federation.

The continuation of reforms in Ukraine and ensuring a fair legal assessment of events in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions is one of the main tasks of the Ukrainian government. President Volodymyr Zelensky has already far exceeded the deadline for signing a draft law 2689, which harmonizes the Criminal Code of Ukraine with the norms of international humanitarian law. This law will make it possible to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes at the national level. We hope that the issue of signing the draft law will be raised at the meeting of the Chancellor of Germany and the President of Ukraine in Kyiv.   

Notably, this meeting will take place on the eve of the 30^th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. Germany and the EU have become important supporters of Ukraine’s sovereignty and democratic development in a united Europe. At the same time, the latest calls for unconditioned rapprochement between the EU and Russia inside the EU and the North Stream 2 agreement have caused serious concerns among Ukraine’s committed reformers and civil society activists. Western decision-makers need to face the reality that any compromises on the Ukrainian question will endanger the standards of international law, the credibility of the EU and all progress made so far in terms of democratization and state-building, and seriously weaken prospects for peace. We therefore urge Angela Merkel to carry an unequivocal message that international standards will be respected and give a clear signal that ongoing Ukrainian efforts to fight corruption, implement democratic reforms and to build a free society will be followed by steadfast EU and broader international support for the country’s sovereignty, security, development and people’s welfare.

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The text of the statement does not necessarily reflect the position of all CivilMPlus member organizations.