Sergey Lavrov
Moscow does not count on any progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements under the current President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told about this in his interview.
According to him, the authorities of the country themselves, including Zelensky, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for the Reintegration of the Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba, say that no progress on a peaceful settlement is expected. As Lavrov explained, Ukrainian politicians believe that on the Minsk agreements – in particular, on accusations against Moscow, which allegedly does not comply with them – the policy of the European Union and the United States is being built to extend anti-Russian sanctions.
The Foreign Minister stressed that such a point of view is involuntarily imposed on Western countries, in particular Germany and France, which is why there is no progress on a peaceful settlement in eastern Ukraine. According to the minister, the Ukrainian side also considers the residents of the territories not controlled by Kiev to be terrorists – this also prevents the achievement of agreements.
Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany are in the “Normandy Four”. The last summit in the “Normandy format” at the highest level was held in Paris on December 9, 2019. Its participants signed a final communiqué, which implies further implementation of the Minsk agreements.
The armed conflict in Donbass began in 2014. Part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared independence after the change of the central government. Kiev tried to retake the rebellious region by force. Ukraine accuses Russia of supporting the militia of the self-proclaimed republics and the occupation of part of Donbass. Moscow rejects the claim.
