The Gathering

France, Germany, Russia and the Ukraine will gather in a "Normandy Format" Germany's State Secretary Heiko Maas announced Thursday on the OSCE summit in Milan. They are going to address the expanded conflict in the Sea of Azov.

On the same summit Ukraine's foreign minister calls for a harder way against Russia by increasing the sanctions:

It is a matter of urgency to provide a prompt and consolidated international response to this act of aggression. Declarations are not enough. There must be action.

We must raise the cost for Russia with comprehensive and tailored sanctions ... There can be no business as usual.

Whatever international governance is going to offer and provide, Moscow has to keep pretending a strong stance. It is probably one of the last reasons why Russians are still supporting their leadership in between of challenges of their domestic politics and western sanctions.

Uniting the people by creating enemies all around them is still "the way to go" for Russia.

So, next Tuesday the four countries are going to meet up.

What can be expected?

 

- OSCE supervisors?

France and Germany are struggling to mediate between the Ukraine and Russia since 2014.
Now it is planned that the OSCE might supervise the Kerch Strait, the small keyhole between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, so both countries - Russia and the Ukraine - can pass freely.

The same organization unfortunately fails to keep ceasefires between the Ukraine and Russia in eastern Ukraine. How is that supposed to work? What would be the best next steps concerning the upraising escalation between the two states around the Sea of Azov?

- A contract, which allows the Ukraine one ship per day to pass by the Kerch Strait into the Sea of Azov which Russia now more and more claims to be only their territory?👌😅

REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov

I was not making fun by calling it a "keyhole" earlier. Larger ships can not drive through there anymore since Russia connected Crimea with their main land by building a bridge which has been finished this year. Plus: it now can easily be blocked.
Fortunately Ukrainian ships were allowed to pass again since Tuesday - after having to stop and being controlled by Russian forces. They were literally queueing up for it.

- Exchanging arrested people between the Ukraine and Russia?
Meanwhile, 24 Ukrainian sailors are still in detention, threatened by ending up in prison for a long time. Russian foreign minister made it clear on the summit, that no talks about their destiny will start before the trial on Crimea is over.
As a response, Kiev prohibited men between 16 and 60 to enter the Ukraine completely during their act of martial law.


- Using their "influence" to work on another ceasefire?
Combat in eastern Ukraine is still going on. People still die. No end to it can be seen so far.
I am very curious.