TASS, Wednesday, July 06, 2016
Moscow hopes that Germany and France will be able to use their influence on Kiev to prevent a military scenario that may seriously destabilize the situation in the region
MOSCOW – The buildup of Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donbass means that Kiev is preparing a military operation in the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday after a meeting of Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin with accredited ambassadors of France and Germany.
“At the meeting, the main attention was drawn to different aspects of an intra-Ukrainian settlement of the conflict,” the foreign ministry said.
Russia said that against the backdrop of stalled negotiations, Moscow is especially concerned with the build-up of Ukrainian Armed Forces and volunteer battalions at the contact line. Observers from the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also note escalation of the situation.
“It is clear that Ukrainian forces are preparing a military operation,” the ministry added.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted the inadmissibility of such provocations by Ukraine that “may ‘cancel out’ the efforts, including in the ‘Normandy format’, towards a peaceful settlement.”
Moscow hopes that German and French partners will be able to use their influence on Kyiv to prevent a military scenario that may seriously destabilize the situation in the region, the ministry concluded.
The Minsk accords were signed on 12 February 2015, after negotiations in the so-called ‘Normandy format’ in the Belarusian capital Minsk, bringinging together Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko.
The package of measures signed at Minsk envisages a ceasefire, weapons withdrawal, prisoner exchanges, local elections in Donbass, constitutional reform in Ukraine and establishing working sub-groups on security, political, economy and humanitarian components of the Minsk accords.
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Kiev won’t recognize leaders of Ukraine’s self-proclaimed republics, says Ukrainian foreign minister, TASS, July 6, 2016
Poroshenko: Security in Donbass comes before constitutional reform, TASS, June 21, 2016
Crimean head says Kyiv’s plans to use tanks against Crimea confirm residents made right choice, TASS, Wednesday, July 6, 2016
