Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Vasily Nebenzya called the representatives of the West, who took the side of Ukraine in the conflict in the east of the country, accomplices in crimes against the population of Donbass.
At the same time, Nebenzya stressed that the participants in the Normandy format, for example, Germany and France, as well as other countries, do not reject direct dialogue with representatives of the Syrian or Venezuelan opposition, the Ansar Alla movement in Yemen or unrecognized state entities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
At the same time, the initiative to establish contact between Ukraine and the residents of Donbass, as stipulated by the Minsk agreements, “provokes a nervous reaction in them.” Nebenzya said that those who support only one side within the Ukrainian conflict cannot call themselves mediators, since they are accomplices in Kiev’s crimes against Donbass, writes RIA Novosti.
The diplomat asked the meeting participants whether the representatives of Western countries are ready to unambiguously demand that Ukraine start moving towards peace and fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreements, and also expressed hope for the principled position of the meeting participants on this issue.
On February 4, the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the trilateral contact group, Leonid Kravchuk, said that the involvement of the United States in the Normandy format would supposedly help “significantly increase” its influence on Moscow on the situation in the Donbass.
On January 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the main reason for the lack of progress in resolving the situation in Donbass is that Berlin and Paris cannot influence Kiev.
Since 2014, Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup. The Ukrainian side declares that it is waging a war against Russia. Moscow has repeatedly noted that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict, and called on Kiev to fulfill the Minsk agreements and conduct direct negotiations with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
The settlement of the situation is being discussed within the framework of a trilateral contact group – authorized representatives of Ukraine, the OSCE and Russia – and the Normandy format with the mediation of Moscow, Paris and Berlin.