Moscow: Kiev Tries to Sabotage Minsk Deal by Asking for Peacekeepers in Donbass

The Ukrainian government's plan to deploy peacekeepers in conflict-torn southeastern regions is an attempt to evade its obligations under the Minsk ceasefire agreements, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The statement comes aid reports that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko suggested deploying a UN peacekeeping mission in the country’s eastern region of Donbass in a phone talk with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

"The initiatives voiced from the representatives of the Kiev regime are simply obvious attempts to once again twist the process of implementing Minsk-2 and to avoid fulfilling its obligations," Zakharova said at a weekly briefing.

Ukraine, which has been mired in a in the southeastern regions for three years, has repeatedly tried to avoid implementing its part of the Minsk accords. It has asked for the deployemnt of UN peacekeepers in Donbass and for the supplies of lethal and non-lethal weapons from the European Union and the United States.

In February 2015, a peace deal was signed between the conflicting sides in Minsk following the talks brokered by the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine — the so-called Normandy Format. According to the agreement, besides other requirements, the conflicting parties have to introduce safe zones to stop violence and pave way for a diplomatic reconciliation. Nevertheless, sporadic armed conflicts keep reoccurring in the region.