6/17/23, 11:35 AM Hollande backs up Merkel revelation on Donbass peace — RT World News

Hollande backs up Merkel revelation on Donbass peace

Ex-French leader agreed with former German counterpart's description
of the real purpose behind Minsk agreements

FILE PHOTO. French President Francois Hollande (R) and German Chancellor
Angela Merkel. ©  Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images

The 2014 Minsk Agreement was indeed a ploy to buy Ukraine time and should be credited
for Kiev’s “successful resilience” now, former French president Francois Hollande said on
Friday. Confirming former German chancellor Angela Merkel’s assessment of the truce,
Hollande also blamed US weakness for the failure to deter Russia.

Earlier this month, Merkel described Minsk as “an attempt to give Ukraine time” to build up
its military. Speaking with the Kyiv Independent, a pro-government Ukrainian outlet,
Hollande agreed, saying Merkel was “right on this point.”

“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,” Hollande said,
adding that it also stopped the advance of Donbass “separatists” on Mariupol.

Hollande was president between 2012 and 2017, choosing not to run for re-election after
polls showed him as the least popular French leader in recent history, with a 97%
disapproval rating. In Friday’s interview, he credited himself for
wanting “maximal” sanctions against Russia, while other EU leaders were reluctant.

Here Hollande diverged from Merkel, pointing out she greenlit the Nord Stream 2 gas
pipeline in 2015, while he canceled the sale of Mistral-class ships to Moscow. The former
French leader also had harsh words for his American counterparts, accusing Barack
https://www.rt.com/news/569201-hollande-merkel-minsk-ukraine/ 1/2
6/17/23, 11:35 AM Hollande backs up Merkel revelation on Donbass peace — RT World News

Obama of “American withdrawal from the international

scene” in Syria, Donald Trump of undermining NATO,
and Joe Biden of “the rout in Afghanistan” that
signaled “weakness in the Western camp” to Russian
President Vladimir Putin.

By contrast, Hollande praised Ukrainian President

Vladimir Zelensky for the “ability to appeal to the whole
world and mobilize the Ukrainian nation,” saying this will
be “central to the outcome of the war and the respect of Read more Ukraine falsifying
Ukraine’s territorial integrity.”  history and ‘replacing’ memory –
Moscow
According to Hollande, the conflict will end when Russia
fails, and then the Minsk agreements “can be
resurrected to establish a legal framework already accepted by all parties.”

Moscow has yet to comment on the former French leader’s statements. Putin
has responded to Merkel’s revelations by saying he had thought her honest, and that trust
between Russia and the West was currently “almost at zero,” making future negotiations
difficult at best. He also said her comments vindicated his decision to send troops into
Ukraine and that in hindsight, the military operation should have started sooner. 

https://www.rt.com/news/569201-hollande-merkel-minsk-ukraine/ 2/2