The interior of the Embassy of the Russian Federation Unter den Linden resembles a Moscow metro station: marble walls and domed ceilings. And a floor made of creaking diplomatic parquet.
Napkins are stacked on the bar tables in the national colors of white, blue and red. A group of journalists are waiting for the press statement from Dmitri Nikolayevich Kosak, Moscow’s Russian negotiator at the Normandy format talks, which are about war and peace going in Europe. Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany have been negotiating the Ukraine conflict for hours this Thursday evening in Berlin. The meeting follows the January 26 talks in Paris.
The Russian representative’s statement is scheduled for 7 p.m. The pointer moves further on the clock of the leaded glass Spassky Tower, which flashes from its red star – the “Tower of the Redeemer” in the Kremlin. The negotiations are still ongoing, says the extraordinarily friendly first embassy secretary. After that there will be a buffet. Then Mr. Kosak will get in the car and it will take about 20 minutes to get here. Maybe he’d want to smoke another one then.
Against the wall is a table with a bucket of coffee and a bucket of hot water for tea. Apart from us, the German-language media are ZDF and the editorial network Germany. The other attendees come mainly from all Russian-language media based in Berlin, from RT to Interfax and Pervyj.
Things get tough in the negotiations on Ukraine – sometimes quite loudly, as we have learned. The Spasski Tower clock shows 10 p.m. The cameras are ready. The microphones at the table where the negotiator is to speak are set up. The table is made of polished oak. Above the huge crystal glass chandeliers. Hammers, sickles and Soviet stars cling to the dome of the hall. The embassy building will be 70 years old this year. The Soviet Union inaugurated it on the 35th anniversary of the October Revolution on November 7, 1952.
After nine hours, the negotiations are over. At 12:03 a.m., Dmitri Kozak appeared to announce: There were no results.