Minsk agreements on Donbas settlement will not be fulfilled due to the different positions that Ukraine and Russia stand on, says Leonid Kravchuk, head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group.
Kravchuk has blamed the incumbent government's predecessors for the ineffectiveness of the deal, the Novoye Vremya online outlet reports.
"Those led by [the then-President Petro] Poroshenko laid down one thing, and now they demand something else. And those who laid this down and signed it remind us that international agreements must be fulfilled," Kravchuk said.
Read alsoZelensky's Office comments on "joint inspection" with Russian proxies in Donbas (UPDATED)He suggests that the implementation of the Minsk agreements is now impossible.
"We are now in a rather difficult situation: there are Minsk Agreements, but they can't be implemented given the obvious reasons. Also, it's because when they were being signed, it was already clear that they would not be fulfilled. But, according to international agreements, such accords cannot be repealed by one side only," the head of the Ukrainian delegation said.
However, Kravchuk sees a way out in holding a Normandy Four Summit of the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia.
"I think this issue should be resolved on appropriate conditions and at such meetings. Only at this level. I don’t see any other [way out]," said Kravchuk.
Meeting of advisors to Normandy Four leaders: background
- On August 26, head of President's Office Andriy Yermak said the meeting of advisors to the Normandy Four leaders, scheduled for August 28, had been postponed to early September.
- It was expected that Yermak would represent Ukraine, assistant to the Chancellor for foreign policy Jan Hecker – Germany, advisor to the president Emmanuel Bonne – France, and deputy head of the presidential administration Dmitry Kozak - Russia.
- On September 9, Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov confirmed Kozak's participation in the meeting in Berlin on September 11.
- Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak arrived in Berlin for talks on September 11.
