“He understands only language of force”: Head of Munich Security Conference on impossibility of negotiations with Putin

He expressed his opinion in an interview with Ukrinform.

According to him, Ukraine's international partners did everything to implement the Minsk agreements.

 "We did everything, and I personally went to Minsk many times with my Ukrainian friends to try to implement the Minsk agreements. We made some progress, but in the end no solution could be reached," Heusgen said.

He emphasized that Russia constantly violated the Minsk Treaty, in particular, did not withdraw heavy weapons and hindered the work of the OSCE mission in Donbas.

"It's not Ukraine's fault. It's Russia's fault. Russia has gone off the diplomatic track, resorted to the use of brute force, and we must respond to that," said the head of the Munich Security Conference.

He stated that it is impossible to negotiate with Putin, because "the only language he, unfortunately, understands is the language of force."

"Something like the Minsk Treaty cannot happen again. Today it would not be possible to sign another "Minsk" because you can no longer trust the Russians," Heusgen emphasized.

"We have to make sure that Ukraine is strong and is able to respond to Russia's pressure," he summarized.

• On January 19, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the need for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia with Germany and France acting as mediators.