Lavrov Calls on Kerry to Influence on Kiev Over Minsk Deal Commitments

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has asked US State Secretary Kerry to use his influence on Kiev to make sure that Kiev fulfills its commitments on the first two parts of Minsk deal on full ceasefire and complete withdrawal of heavy weaponry.

GENEVA (Sputnik) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday he had asked US State Secretary John Kerry to use Washington's influence on Kiev to ensure prompt implementation of Minsk agreements by the Ukrainian forces.

Lavrov and Kerry held talks in Geneva on Monday on the sidelines of the28th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, with the focus on the situation in Ukraine and the implementation of Minsk peace accords.

"I asked John Kerry to use his influence, Washington's influence, on Kiev to make sure that the Ukrainian side, the Ukrainian government fulfills its commitments on the first two parts of these [Minsk] agreements [on full ceasefire and complete withdrawal of heavy weaponry], Lavrov said after a closed-door meting with Kerry.

"It is also crucial that the remaining agreements, including an amnesty, constitutional reforms, the special status of Donbas, are not left on paper only," Lavrov told reporters in Geneva.

The Kiev government’s proposal to deploy peacekeepers in eastern Ukraine is just an attempt to delay the implementation of the Minsk agreements, Sergei Lavrov said.

“It looks like someone, by [putting forward] such new ideas, has been trying to delay the implementation of key provisions of the Minsk deal, primarily those concerning the political process,” the minister said.

He said the issue of peacekeepers had not been raised during the 17-hour negotiations in Minsk on February 12, when Kiev and self-proclaimed eastern Ukrainian republics had agreed on ceasefire, heavy weaponry pullout, political reforms and other important steps toward reconciliation.

“So, when new ideas suddenly being put forward only a couple of days after reaching such a difficult, but comprehensive agreement, it makes us think about the sincerity of those who voice such ideas as if in an attempt – deliberate or not – to distract attention from the implementation of what had already been agreed,” Lavrov said.

Under the deal reached in Minsk, the warring sides were to cease fire on February 15 and to withdraw heavy weapons from the front lines over the following two weeks.

On Sunday, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics said they had completed the pullout. The same day, a Kiev military spokesman said the pro-Kiev forces would end the process "as soon as we see there is no shelling of our positions." He was unable to specify what proportion of heavy artillery had been pulled out to date.