While commenting on the prospects for negotiations in the current conflict, France’s former president said that “for a dialogue to be fruitful, it must be based on a balance of power”
PARIS, December 30. /TASS/. France’s former president, Francois Hollande, who participated in attempts to settle the conflict in Donbass and in shaping the Minsk agreements in 2015 has confirmed the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement to the effect the agreements were needed for the sole purpose of letting Kiev gain time and build up military muscle for another conflict.
“Yes, Angela Merkel is right on this point,” he told the Kiev Independent media outlet, while commenting on Merkel’s remark that the Minsk agreements allowed Kiev to gain time, but by no means prevented further hostilities in the Donbass.
“Since 2014, Ukraine has strengthened its military posture. Indeed, the Ukrainian army was completely different from that of 2014. It was better trained and equipped. It is the merit of the Minsk agreements to have given the Ukrainian army this opportunity.”
