Minsk Peace Accord Fulfillment Possible Despite Donbass Conflict Escalation

The escalation of the conflict between Kiev forces and local militia in eastern Ukraine does not necessarily mean the total failure of the Minsk peace agreements, the deputy chief monitor of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Despite a peace accord having been reached by the warring sides in Minsk in February, fighting in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass has intensified recently.

"The agreement itself has not collapsed. But the fact that both sides do not adhere to the negotiated agreements, is a fact. It is too early to say that the agreement is 'dead.' Measures and processes provided for by agreements are in force on a small scale," Alexander Hug told the German Welt newspaper, in answer to a question on whether the escalation of the conflict in Donbas indicated the failure of the Minsk accord.

According to Hug, it is still possible for the Minsk agreement to be fulfilled in full.

"The ceasefire and weapons withdrawal does not depend on the OSCE, but on the warring parties, who must adhere to the rules they pledged to observe," Hug added.

In February, the warring sides reached the so-called Minsk-2 deal, stipulating an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the line of contact in Donbass, and the granting of more autonomy to the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Both Kiev and the local militia continue to accuse each other of violating the terms of the agreement.

According to UN estimates, more than 6,800 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict in April 2014.