Stoltenberg: NATO Supports Kiev's Efforts to Implement Minsk Agreements

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that Ukraine has made strong efforts to observe the Minsk agreements. He accused Russia of violating it but provided no evidence.

MOSCOW, December 2 (Sputnik) — The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) supports Ukraine's efforts to implement the Minsk agreements, the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday.

"We have to support all efforts to implement and to respect the Minsk agreements and the ceasefire, and the government in Ukraine has really made strong efforts to implement the different provisions within the Minsk agreements," Stoltenberg said at the beginning of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

Stoltenberg also noted that NATO was supporting Kiev both politically and practically, as later today the alliance's leaders will announce the trust funds established to help Ukraine overcome the ongoing crisis.

Speaking about Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the secretary general added that eastern Ukrainian independence supporters and Russia had repeatedly violated the Minsk agreements. However, Stoltenberg failed to provide any evidence.

"We call on Russia to do exactly that, to implement and to respect the ceasefire and to withdraw its forces from Ukraine and to stop supporting the separatists in Ukraine," he added.

Russia's relations with NATO deteriorated dramatically after the alliance accused Moscow of destabilizing the situation in conflict-torn Ukraine and condemned Crimea's reunification with Russia in March.

On April 1, NATO ended all practical cooperation with Russia, only maintaining contacts at the ambassadorial level and above.

Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in the armed conflict in Ukraine and stated that sanctions imposed on Russia threaten international peace and stability.