Kremlin Observes Poor Implementation of Minsk Deal on Ukraine

The implementation of the Minsk peace agreements on Ukraine is progressing very poorly, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed a member of the country's Security Council, Boris Gryzlov, as Moscow's envoy to the Contact Group on Ukrainian reconciliation.

"This means that Russia, raising the level once again, strengthening its representation in the Contact Group, underlines the importance it attaches to the implementation of the Minsk peace agreements, despite the fact that the implementation of these documents is progressing very poorly," Peskov told reporters, commenting on Gryzlov's appointment.

Peskov added he did not rule out that Ukrainian, Russian, German and French leaders could hold phone talks on the matter before the year-end. "This possibility is being explored," he said.

Following his appointment on Saturday, the new Russian envoy to the Ukraine peace talks emphasized that the Minsk deal, agreed on in February, was the only opportunity to stop the war in southeastern Ukraine.

Key points of the Minsk accord are a ceasefire, a weapons pullout from the line of contact between Kiev forces and Donbass independence supporters, the implementation of constitutional reforms, including a decentralization of power in the country, and the granting of special status to the eastern Donbass region.