French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins told RBC Ukraine news agency that there is a need for clarification of the Minsk agreements on Donbas settlement since they were concluded back in 2014 and 2015
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th July, 2020) French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins told RBC Ukraine news agency that there is a need for clarification of the Minsk agreements on Donbas settlement since they were concluded back in 2014 and 2015.
"Our position is that any diplomatic text leaves space for interpretation. Of course, the text cannot describe all the scenarios of the development of the situation, therefore there is a need for clarifications throughout the discussion within the framework of these agreements, because they were concluded back in 2014 and 2015. And all sides acknowledge the possibility of these clarifications," de Poncins said.
The diplomat believes that an understanding of how to implement the provisions of the Minsk agreements is necessary.
"Especially when it comes to such issues as elections or borders. When it comes to details, we need to explain and describe them. Ukraine should gain control over the border, but there is a question about the sequence of steps and the like," the ambassador said.
However, according to the ambassador, there are currently no other opportunities for negotiations to resolve the conflict in Donbas except for the Minsk and Normandy formats.
Commenting on a possibility of a new Normandy Four meeting, de Poncins did not rule out that it could take place in the coming weeks or months, however, the prerequisite for a new meeting is the full implementation of the agreements reached in Paris last year.
The conflict in Ukraine began in April 2014 when the government forces launched an offensive against the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, referred to together as Donbas, after they proclaimed independence from Kiev. Their decision came in response to what they consider to have been a coup in Ukraine that toppled the old government in February of that year.
In February 2015, the warring parties signed an set of agreements in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, hence their name, with mediation of the so-called Normandy Four group, comprising France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine. The agreements stipulate Kiev and Donbas to cease fire, pull out forces from the contact line, set up safety zones, amnesty, resume economic opportunities and social benefits of Donbas residents, as well as for Ukraine to carry out constitutional reforms that will decentralize the power and give parts of Donetsk and Luhansk a special status.
