The head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, warned Moscow on Tuesday against recognizing two secessionist regions supported by Russia in eastern Ukraine as independent, saying such move would violate the Minsk agreements signed by Moscow.
“This recognition would be a clear violation of the Minsk accords,” Borrell said, referring to the peace accords signed in the belarusian capital in September 2014 and February 2015 in an attempt to end the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
“EU support and commitment to the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders remains unshakeable”, he added.
“The EU strongly condemns the decision of the Russian State Duma decision submit a call (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin to recognize the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine as independent entities”, Borell also tweeted.
The bottom of Russia house of parliament had voted earlier on Tuesday to ask Putin to recognize the self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, in the area known as Donbass, where separatist forces have been fighting the Ukrainian military since 2014.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also released a statement condemning the bid. “The Ukrainian perspective remains unchanged: the recognition of Russia of the so-called ‘Donetsk and Luhansk peoples”republics” will be equivalent to son deliberate withdrawal from the Minsk agreements,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. in the statement.
“Such as move will be cause a blow to the politico-diplomatic settlement that Ukraine and its partners are actively engaged in promoting. Acknowledgement of the so-called “L/DPR” will have no legal implications”, it added, using acronym for Donetsk and Lugansk peoples’ republics.
“Russia will not succeed in masking the Russian occupation administration in temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions as “independent entities”, or to disguise its own involvement as a party to armed conflict in Donbass. Instead, if the Russian president supports the decision of the RF State Duma, this will have much broader and destructive consequences for the international rule of the law and the global security architecture. Russia therefore has a choice: embark on the path of de-escalation and diplomacy dialogue Where experience decisive consolidated response by the international community,” the Ministry also noted.
“We call on Moscow to adopt a constructive attitude with a view to achieving progress in the framework of existing trading formats. Otherwise, Russia will bear full responsibility for ruin the Minsk agreements and the process of peaceful settlement of the armed conflict. »
The conflict is part of a wider crisis, with United States warning that Russia can attack Ukraine anytime with a force of more more than 100,000 soldiers massed near its borders.
Russia denies any such plan and blames the West of hysteria.
