Alexey Pushkov: Kyiv does not comply with the Minsk agreements, but sanctions against Russia are being extended
Although Europe understands that the Minsk process is not being implemented due to the fault of Kyiv, it is with the implementation of Minsk-2 that the issue of sanctions against Russia is linked. Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexei Pushkov announced this at a press conference in Moscow.
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“Now in Europe they understand very well that the Minsk agreements are largely not being implemented through the fault of Kyiv. And, if a year ago pressure was exerted only on Russia, now all Western diplomats and parliamentarians related to international politics assure us that Berlin, Paris, and other capitals are trying to put pressure on Ukraine so that it fulfills its part of the Minsk agreements.
It is recognized that part of the problem lies in Kyiv. I would say the majority. And so far they don’t want to admit this in Europe. For some reason they believe that the Minsk agreements must be implemented from the end. But if restoring Ukrainian control over the border is the ninth point (and not the second or third), then there is probably a reason for this.
We say: look at the agreements, you signed them yourself! There is a certain logic that should lead to this restoration of control. What does Verkhovna Rada Speaker Parubiy say? “Yes, the law on the status of Donbass can be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. In theory. But no one here will support him.” This means that Ukraine, at the level of its speaker, government representative, refuses to implement the Minsk agreements.
And the declarations that Merkel and Hollande make regarding the extension of sanctions actually mean that they are extending the sanctions from which the EU itself is suffering, because Kyiv does not want to comply with the Minsk agreements. I wonder if they understand this themselves?
It seems to me that, firstly, the link between sanctions and the Minsk process has outlived its usefulness. The Minsk process depends, first of all, on Kyiv. But Kyiv officially refuses to implement it, saying that laws cannot be adopted. I would like to hear from the leadership of the EU countries how they assess this - that Ukraine does not want to comply with the Minsk agreements.
Otherwise we hear a saving formula: sanctions against Russia will be lifted when the Minsk agreements are implemented, and the Minsk agreements depend on Kyiv. I think this contradictory position of the EU will become more and more evident - if the answer is in Kyiv, why are they looking for it in Moscow?” - Pushkov is perplexed.
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