France, Germany announce serious consequences for Russia in case of large-scale operation against Ukraine – Kuleba

KYIV. Nov 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ministers of Foreign Affairs of France and Germany Jean-Yves Le Drian and Heiko Maas during a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said if Russia decides on a large-scale military operation against Ukraine, it will have extremely difficult consequences for it.

"France and Germany assured me that if Russia decides on a large-scale military operation against Ukraine, it will have extremely difficult consequences for it," Kuleba told jounalists in Brussels following the talks.

Kuleba said that throughout the year the foreign ministers of Germany and France tried to organize a quadripartite meeting of foreign ministers of the countries of the Normandy format, but, unfortunately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov never found an opportunity to join them. According to him, the ministers discussed the security situation around Ukraine and in the occupied territories of Ukraine and the latest actions of Russia.

"We agreed that appropriate communication with Russia will be carried out in order to demotivate it from any aggressive actions," Kuleba said.

He said the ministers talked about what exactly the partners can do to deter Russia from committing aggressive actions.

"This is not only political communication, but also Russia’s awareness of very specific consequences for its economy, including the economy, of possible aggressive actions against our state," Kuleba said.

The minister said that "Russia must see that it will not be able to withstand the price it will have to pay if it resorts to large-scale military action."

He said the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Germany and France also agreed that the Normandy format at the level of foreign ministers should be preserved.

"We will continue to work to ensure that a quadripartite meeting takes place, so that we sit down, after all, with Russia represented by Minister Lavrov, and have a frank and substantive dialogue. As you understand, it is possible to fully agree in the Normandy format only when all four participants are sitting at the table," Kuleba said.

The minister said that he informed the German and French colleagues about the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, according to him, speaks of further economic integration of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine with the economy of Russia.

"We are waiting for the condemnation of this decree, because it clearly contradicts the letter and spirit of the Minsk agreements," the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.