Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba. File photoKYIV, Jan 17Ukraine has fulfilled its part of the agreements on resolving the conflict in Donbass, which were reached at the Normandy Summit in Paris, Kiev is constructive and ready to move on, but the Russian Federation is blocking the process, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said. «In 2019, our leaders gathered for summit in Paris, a document was adopted there, according to which Ukraine and the Russian Federation assumed certain obligations, the fulfillment of which should contribute to the implementation of the Minsk agreements.If you take this document and analyze what has been done, you will see that Ukraine has fulfilled its part, Russia has not complied,» Kuleba said at a briefing following a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock in Kiev on Monday.Lavrov called statements about Russia's «invasion» of the Donbas disinformationAccording to him, the Russian Federation is also blocking the work of the contact group on Donbas. “When you ask what we are doing or what needs to be done to hold the Normandy Summit, then, in fact, a lot has already been done: Ukraine has fulfilled its part of the decision of the Paris summit, Ukraine is ready to move along all tracks of the Minsk agreements in the trilateral contact group. All we need to get is Russia's readiness to work in good faith both in the Normandy format and in the trilateral contact group, this is a task for diplomats,» Kuleba said. He added that Kiev is constructive and ready to move forward in the settlement process. “We take a very constructive position in this regard, but, unfortunately, our constructiveness does not receive mutual constructiveness from Russia,” Kuleba said. “The Normandy format” of negotiations on Ukraine has existed since June 2014. Then, during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy, the leaders of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France discussed the settlement of the conflict in Donbass for the first time. The previous summit was held in Paris on December 9, 2019. Recently, parties at various levels have been discussing the prospects for interaction in this format.The Permanent Representative to the OSCE announced a strong deterioration in the situation in the Donbass Relations between Moscow and Kiev deteriorated after the reunification of Crimea with Russia and against the background of the armed conflict in the Donbass. The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of interfering in the internal affairs of the state, and in January 2015 they officially declared it an «aggressor country.» The Russian Federation has repeatedly stressed that it does not participate in the intra-Ukrainian conflict and is not a subject of the Minsk agreements. In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, which declared independence after the coup in Kiev in February 2014. According to the latest UN data, about 13 thousand people became victims of the conflict. The issue of resolving the situation in Donbass is being discussed, including during meetings of the contact group. However, even after the ceasefire agreements, skirmishes continue, in the DPR they announced the shelling of residential areas by Ukrainian heavy artillery. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Kiev does not comply with the Minsk agreements and drags out negotiations to resolve the conflict. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that Kiev sent half of the entire personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine to the Donbass. Moscow expressed concern about the transfer of military equipment from NATO countries to the Russian borders and the increase in the number of Western instructors in the Donbass. Western countries continue to provide Ukraine with military support, including by supplying weapons that are used in the Donbass.
