Head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction David Arakhamiya claimed he would agree to resume water supplies to the Russian Crimea, provided that the armed groups were withdrawn from the territory of Donbass and Ukraine regained control over the border, chief of the DRPM Central Executive Committee Alexey Muratov commented on his statement.
“Such an attempt of bargaining on the part of a high-ranking representative from Zelensky’s team cannot be called nothing else but pathetic. Note that the water supply cut from the territory of Ukraine after the return of the Crimea to the Russian Federation did really create some challenges, primarily to local residents. However, the Crimeans, with the active assistance of the federal authorities, have almost overcome the difficulties and learned to deal with the problem over the years.
Similarly, the DPR and the LPR have learned to cope without Ukraine in the conditions of the ongoing socio-economic blockade and military- political confrontation. The nationalistic dictatorship of Kiev obviously cannot be what the people of Donbass would like to see in their territory, that is why any disbandment or withdrawal of the People’s Militia is out of question. All the more so because that contradicts the Minsk accords, which enshrine the status of the DPR and give a precise procedure for the implementation of steps for peaceful settlement of the conflict.
In particular, the Ukrainian side has to guarantee security and extended self-governance to the residents of the Donbass republics, including free cross-border cooperation with the Russian Federation, by making necessary changes to the constitution and current legislation. At the same time, relations with Kiev will be built on a contractual basis.
In other words, the Minsk Agreements are about a civilized divorce from Ukraine, not about the revival of its control. This way is intended to de-escalate the violence and restore the rights and freedoms of the residents of Donbass.
Therefore, Zelensky and his team’s miserable insinuations regarding the Minsk Agreements are negligible and doomed to failure. They demonstrate their helplessness and lack of political will,” Muratov stressed.