Moscow, June 4 (IANS) The Minsk peace agreements aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine are under the constant threat of failure due to the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
“The Minsk agreements are under the constant threat of failure due to the actions of Kiev authorities who are trying not to comply with commitments on establishing a direct dialogue with Donbass,” Lavrov said at a high-level conference regional security of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
Lavrov stressed that “the policy towards subordination of the fates of entire nations to unilateral geopolitical plots has led to a severe internal crisis in Ukraine”, TASS news agency reported
The agreement to stop hostilities in Ukraine’s southeast was brokered after the 16-hour marathon talks between the leaders of the Normandy Quartet countries – Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine.
The February 12 deal also envisages heavy weaponry withdrawal from the contact line, launching a dialogue on restoring social and economic ties between Kiev and Donbass, a constitutional reform in Ukraine aimed at decentralisation and ensuring the special status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions and other measures.
Lavrov’s comments came after renewed clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev forces broke out on Wednesday.
Five Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 39 others were wounded during clashes that broke out on Monday between government forces and pro-Russian separatist militias, Ukrainian presidential adviser Yury Biryukov said on Thursday.
The Ukrainian authorities accused the separatists of launching a large-scale offensive on Wednesday at dawn against Marinka and Krasnohorivka, towns located 19 km west of Donetsk, the main pro-Russian stronghold, Efe news agency reported.
Monday’s clashes were the heaviest since the Ukrainian troops left the strategic town of Debaltsevo in mid-February, a day after the bilateral truce was signed in Belarusian capital Minsk.