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What followed the Zakharchenko funeral in Donetsk?
Summary
A look back at the burial of the Donetsk separatist leader and the warnings about the Normandy format that surrounded it.
What happened in Donetsk on 2 September 2018, and why did it matter for the stalled peace process? Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral of Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-proclaimed "DNR", who had died in an explosion at a restaurant in central Donetsk on 31 August.
A funeral and a political message
The day before the funeral, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the killing as a provocation. He said it would derail the Normandy format peace process, which was already stalled.
The Normandy format was a grouping of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France. The four first met informally in 2014, during the 70th anniversary of D-Day celebrations in Normandy. The group played a substantial role in mediating the Minsk agreements between 2014 and 2015. It continued to meet until 2022. By September 2018 its work on the war in Donbas had stopped moving.
A separate track in the region
Elsewhere in the region, the president of the unrecognised Republic of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, announced on 31 August a visit to Moldovan President Igor Dodon. The two were to hold talks on 6 September. The announcement concerned a different dispute from the Donbas conflict, and the reports from that time linked the two only by date.
For readers looking back, the funeral shows how quickly the Russian side framed Zakharchenko's death in terms of the diplomatic process. Lavrov's remark placed the Normandy format at the centre of the discussion within two days of the explosion.
