Ex-UK Prime Minister Johnson Says Normandy Format On Ukraine Was 'Diplomatic Imitation'

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2023) Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the Normandy Format of negotiations on the Ukraine conflict, established in 2014, was nothing but a "diplomatic imitation."

During his visit to Kiev in late January, Johnson told in an interview with Ukrainian parliamentary broadcaster Rada, aired on Ukrainian media on Thursday, that the Normandy Format has been launched as a "diplomatic imitation," adding that tougher sanctions against Russia should have been imposed by the West back in 2014.

The conflict between Ukraine's government and the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk has been simmering since 2014. In February 2015, the Minsk Agreements, designed to find a political resolution to the conflict, were negotiated by the leaders of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine in the Normandy group format.

However, the agreement has not been observed so far, and sporadic clashes continue. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Kiev is not fulfilling the agreements and is delaying negotiations to resolve the conflict.

In December, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel already admitted to the Zeit newspaper that the 2014 Minsk agreement "was an attempt to give Ukraine extra time." The former chancellor said she doubted NATO countries could have done as much then as they were doing now to help Ukraine.