Although Ukraine is far from being a member of the G20 group of nations, the country and its problems were widely discussed by world leaders during the G20 summit in Hamburg on July 7-8.
Media reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed Russia’s war on Ukraine in the Donbas, the Minsk agreements, and reforms in Ukraine.
Ukraine was also one of the topics of the U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first meeting on July 7.
After the meeting, that lasted for more than two hours instead of the planned 35 minutes, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was also present during the presidents’ meeting, along with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, told journalists that the presidents had “a positive chemistry” and discussed such major international issues as Ukraine, Syria, cyber-crime, and counter-terrorism.
Lavrov told the press that Putin and Trump agreed to appoint new ambassadors and “build a communication channel on Ukrainian issue.”
“I had a very long conversation with the U.S president,” Putin told Russian news agency TASS on July 7. “We needed to discuss many questions – Ukraine, Syria, some bilateral issues. We also discussed cyber security and counter-terrorism.”
Then on July 8, Putin, Merkel, and Macron held a joint meeting to discuss Ukraine. Yuriy Ushakov, Putin’s advisor, told TASS that Ukraine, also a Normandy Format talks’ member, wasn’t invited to the meeting as it’s not a G20 member and wasn’t invited to the summit in Hamburg.
Ukraine continues to remain a major issue of international politics.
In an official statement, published on July 7 on the U.S Department of State website, Tillerson announced the appointment of Ambassador Kurt Volker as the U.S Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations.
Volker, who previously served as the U.S. representative to NATO and Director for European and Eurasian Affairs on the National Security Council, will oversee U.S. efforts to achieve the implementation of Minsk Agreements and is expected to continue regular meetings with Normandy Format members Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France, according to the U.S. Department of State website.
“Kurt’s wealth of experience makes him uniquely qualified to move this conflict in the direction of peace,” Tillerson said in the announcement published on the State Department website. “The United States remains fully committed to the objectives of the Minsk agreements, and I have complete confidence in Kurt to continue our efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine.”
Volker is to join Tillerson during his first official visit to Ukraine on July 9.
