Russia expects Kiev to comply with ceasefire obligations in Donbass – Politics
MOSCOW, December 23. / TASS /. Russia expects Kiev to fulfill all of its obligations to ensure the ceasefire in Donbass. This is stated in the commentary of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, circulated on Thursday.
“Despite the fact that in the joint statement of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they avoided an outright ban on opening a reciprocal permit without the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, nevertheless we hope that Kiev will comply with all obligations on a sustainable ceasefire in eastern Ukraine,” in comments.
Zakharova indicated that the joint statement expressed the determination to “consistently and rigorously” “comply with measures to strengthen the ceasefire,” including in terms of the conditions for the opening of return fire. ” and is known and entered into force on July 27, 2020. negotiations, “the diplomat recalled.
According to Zakharova, Ukraine constantly evaded the implementation of this document, continued shelling of the territory of Donbass in September 2020, stopped the direct interaction with Donbass provided for by the measures in order to promptly prevent shootings. “At the end of September this year, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny, and at the beginning of October, the commander of the joint forces operation Pavlyuk, made a statement allowing servicemen to open fire at their own discretion, which was essentially a way out of the agreements reached,” she stressed.
In the group, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office in Ukraine and in the contact group Mikko Kinnunen said that the contact group for a settlement in eastern Ukraine had agreed to return to the observance of the ceasefire in Donbass. The message notes that “the participants expressed their determination to fully comply with the ceasefire of 22 July 2020”. For his part, the plenipotentiary of Russia in the contact group Boris Gryzlov notes that in the course of the representatives of Kiev they continue to block any peace initiatives of the republics of Donbass. In particular, Ukraine is not taking practical steps to comply with the ceasefire in Donbass.