What has to be done to transform a severe crisis in Ukraine into a stable modus vivendi and subsequently into a starting point for a sustainable security and peace order in Europe?

It seems naive and also foolish to wait and hope for a “Big Deal” between the USA and Russia. The Minsk II Agreement and the accompanying European consultation format “Normandy Four” exist and have the necessary design to work towards a peaceful solution. The potential for the political revitalization of the Minsk II Agreement is by no means exhausted. What is necessary in our view is a step-by-step strategy that involves a regionalization of the trilateral contact group as a first building block of a transitional power-sharing in Donbas, providing a basis for further orientation towards a balanced and therefore stable peace in Europe.