PARIS, Jan 27In the Donbass they are «fighting like a fish on ice» to fulfill the Minsk agreements, but all their initiatives are ignored, said Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation. «We are often called upon to influence the Donbass so that they comply with the Minsk agreements… to give, but make sure, say that (exactly) they do not comply.Donbass, like a fish on ice, beats to fulfill (Minsk agreements), there are a lot of all sorts of meaningful initiatives, road maps, draft laws, proposals for a truce, proposals for an exchange, proposals on the opening of the checkpoint — they are all ignored, just because they come from the Donbass,» he told reporters. A meeting of advisers to the leaders of the «Normandy Four» was held in Paris on Wednesday. The Russian delegation at the talks was headed by Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Dmitry Kozak, the French one — by the diplomatic adviser to the President of France Emmanuel Bonn, the German one — by the foreign policy adviser to the German Chancellor Jens Plötner, and the Ukrainian one — by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak. In early January, Bonn and Plötner visited Moscow, where they met with Kozak, after which French and German officials went to Kiev and negotiated with Yermak. The last time the Normandy Format advisors met was in September last year via video link. Then the consultations ended in vain. The so-called «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, the parties at various levels have been discussing the prospects for interaction in this format.The DPR appreciated the evacuation of Western diplomats from KievIn 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 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 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. Earlier, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the threat of provocations from Ukraine in the Donbass is now very high, it is even higher than before.
Progress in Normandy format negotiations is almost zero, Kozak said
