Ukraine will not implement the Minsk agreements in the form in which they were signed by the previous leadership and supported by a UN Security Council resolution.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of “Reintegration” Alexei Reznikov stated this on the Ukraine 24 TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Reznikov, the Ukrainian leadership insists that the agreements must be rewritten, and the Donbass republics will not receive any special status.
“At the summit in Paris on December 9 last year, the Ukrainian position was voiced by President Zelensky, which he clearly formulated when he agreed to the final communique together with the leaders of the Normandy format, that today the Minsk agreements remain the only basis for attempts to end this war and establish peace in the occupied Donbass. This is the first one.
Therefore, today the Ukrainian delegation is trying to do everything as efficiently as possible in order to try to achieve peace thanks to the Minsk Agreements, which were concluded in 2014. But already at that meeting, President Zelensky clearly formulated that, for example, the condition written in paragraph eight, that elections must first take place, and the next day the transfer of control over the border between Ukraine and Russia by the Ukrainian government begins, such a condition is unacceptable.
First we need to take control of the border, and then hold elections. It was also clearly explained that no special status could be enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine - there is a law of Ukraine, which was adopted by the previous term of parliament on the peculiarities of local self-government in certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions - that’s enough. Therefore, from that moment on, our delegation constantly, absolutely frankly, openly, on all broadcasts and in all interviews, clearly said that the Minsk Agreements require modernization, need to be reviewed and changed,” Reznikov said.