MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th October, 2021) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday described as inaccurate, the premises of the EU-Ukraine summit's statement alleging Russian "aggression" and status as a party to the Minsk Agreements, saying they contradict the situation on the ground.
The 23d summit between the European Union and Ukraine took place in Kiev on Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen signed a joint statement in which they condemned alleged "acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces" against Ukraine and urged Moscow to fully implement the Minsk Agreements.
"Russia was directly called an aggressor and in very blunt, unquestioning tones we were required to implement the Minsk agreements, because, as stated there, we are a party to that document. This seriously contradicts the truth and contradicts even such ambiguous statements made to us by German and French experts in response to our direct question about who are parties to the Minsk agreements," Lavrov told reporters.
The conflict in Donbas between Ukraine's government and the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk republics has been going on since 2014. The Minsk Agreements, designed to find a political settlement to the conflict, were negotiated by the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine � comprising the Normandy group � in February 2015.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly stated that the Minsk Agreements do not mention Russia as a side to the conflict.
