Ukraine will comply with the terms of the Minsk agreements, which provide for the granting of a special status to Donbass. This was stated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. However, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in recent days has repeatedly stressed that Kiev will not negotiate with the DPR and LPR, and also does not consider the issue of autonomy for Donbass.

Special status of Donbass

“The (Minsk) agreements speak of a special status for Donbass, and I believe that in due sequence the Ukrainians will be ready to move forward,” Blinken said on Monday, February 7 . His briefing was broadcast by the US State Department on Twitter.

According to him, the United States and Ukraine equally perceive the Minsk agreements and consider them a way to resolve the conflict in the east of the country. The Secretary of State added that Kiev is conscientious about the implementation of the Minsk agreements, “which cannot be said about Russia.”

“Ukraine has repeatedly in recent years sought to move forward with the implementation of Minsk,” Blinken added.

According to the text of the Minsk agreements, Ukraine was supposed to carry out a constitutional reform, suggesting “decentralization as a key element (taking into account the characteristics of certain regions of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, agreed with representatives of these regions).” The country also had to adopt by the end of 2015 "permanent legislation on the special status of certain regions of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions."

Earlier, US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said in an interview with TASS that in all negotiations with the Ukrainian government, including negotiations between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader declares that he is ready to fulfill Ukraine's obligations under the Minsk agreements. She also noted that "Moscow, too, must ensure that its obligations and the obligations of the LPR and the DPR are fulfilled."

“We believe that with the goodwill of all parties, the Minsk agreements can still be implemented. However, this will also require Russia to be ready to stop providing military support (LNR and DNR - ) and withdraw forces from Ukraine,” Nuland said.

She also acknowledged that steps would also be required from Kiev to resolve the conflict. According to her, representatives of the Ukrainian authorities during negotiations with the United States do not refuse to implement the Minsk agreements.

“Publicly and privately, they told us that they are ready to fulfill their obligations if the Russian side, as well as the LPR and DPR, fulfill their obligations. We (USA) stand ready to support a serious return to negotiations. But in the last few years, it has been kabuki-style talks. So, if we (the United States -) can be useful, then we are ready to be useful, ”she concluded.

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“There will be no right of veto”

At the same time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba emphasizes at various venues that Kiev will not conduct any negotiations with the DPR and LPR. In particular, he stated that Ukraine would not grant a special status to Donbass, as provided for by the Minsk agreements. According to him, during the visit of foreign leaders and ministers to Ukraine, Kiev explains to them what Ukraine's view of the implementation of the Minsk agreements is.

“Because there is a Russian vision, and I assure you that the Minsk agreements cannot be implemented on Russian terms, which are based on a direct dialogue between Ukraine and ORDLO (as Kiev calls the territories of the self-proclaimed LNR and DNR - RBC), which they impose on us",

— UNIAN quotes him.

He does not deny that the Minsk agreements are the basis for resolving the conflict in the southeast. But, in his opinion, their "Russian interpretation" does not meet the "interests of Ukraine." He stressed that Ukraine will no longer "tolerate any pressure and coercion to implement something somewhere," and now Western partners do not impose on Kiev the implementation of the agreements on Donbass in their "Russian" form.

“Not a single region of Ukraine will have the right to veto national decisions. It's written in stone! So there will be no special status, as Russia represents, no right of veto,” Kuleba said in an interview with the Polish edition of Rzeczpospolita, answering a question about the possible granting of a special status to Donbass.

According to him, Kiev is carrying out "a very deep reform of decentralization" and is ready to work on the implementation of the Minsk agreements. “But the Minsk agreements start with security issues. The political part there is only in second place. Therefore, everyone should first of all focus on security,” the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.In addition, Kuleba met with German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock on Monday. During the negotiations, he again noted that Ukraine would not negotiate between the LPR and the DPR, allegedly this was not provided for by the Minsk agreements. The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that in a dialogue with Burbock, he clearly outlined the red lines from which Kiev will never back down.

“Firstly, we will not make any concessions regarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, and secondly, we will not enter into a direct dialogue with the so-called Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, this is not provided for by the Minsk agreements. Third, I stressed that the Ukrainian people will always be the single source of decisions regarding the foreign policy of our state and its directions,” he listed.

bbabo.Net