Judging by the statements from the Ukrainian defense minister, chaos and disarray in the minds of Ukrainian officials grows stronger with every passing day, DPR Foreign Minister Natalya Nikonorova stated.
“It is hard to explain why Ukrainian officials decided that the disengagement along the whole line of contact is “an erroneous way that contradicts the very essence of the Minsk Agreements”. This is not just about the fact that a phased withdrawal of forces and heavy equipment along the line of contact is the most effective and efficient way to ensure a truly stable ceasefire. And it is not about that it was the Ukrainian military who violated and delayed the disengagement at the three pilot areas. Ukraine’s defense minister has reached such a degree of cynicism that despite the gravest consequences of shelling to the residents of Donbass, despite the victims, injuries and devastation, he is going to hold on the conflict only to “keep the tension in the international community” and “not to lobby for the lifting of the sanctions”. It is those statements that are a direct contradiction to the essence of the Minsk Agreements.
Moreover, it is totally absurd to say that the representatives of the republics must “fulfil the Minsk Agreements and go away”. I will remind once again that the peaceful residents of the former Donetsk and Lugansk regions did not unleash the conflict in Donbass in 2014. It was the Ukrainian leadership, who came to power through an illegal takeover and launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against those who did not agree with the mayhem happening in Kiev. That is why we, the residents of the republics, are not going anywhere from our homeland, the Ukrainian authorities should stop inventing mythical stories but realize that the only parties to this conflict are Donbass and Kiev, which means it is the format that is required for a full and mutual coordination of absolutely all details and issues to agree on the reestablishment of peace, which Ukraine was the first to break.
Moreover, the Ukrainian defense minister should have known that the documents signed in Minsk had been approved by the guarantor countries and the UN Security Council, which means that it is unacceptable to speak about them like “the Minsk Agreements suit us generally, but we do not agree with their order of priority. No changes or amendments have ever been made to the wording of the Complex of Measures and will never be made, which means it is high time that Kiev said goodbye to the illusions in this regard and finally started to fulfill its commitments in accordance with the order and sequence as this document sets out, more particularly: security issues must be addressed simultaneously with the reconcilement process on the political track,” Natalya Nikonorova stated.