WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Minsk peace talks between Ukraine, France, Germany, Russia and leaders of Luhansk and Donetsk have resulted in the destruction of the Ukrainian state, US Senator Lindsey Graham told Sputnik on Thursday.
The decision by the Minsk Contact Group to open a second round of agreements after the failure to implement the September 2014 protocol, has “legitimized the dismemberment” of Ukraine by “reengaging and giving more,” Graham told Sputnik.
The Senator added that France and Germany’s interest in conducting the negotiations are based on protecting economic ties with Russia, rather than “regional consequences” or a “moral imperative.”
A lasting ceasefire and end to the killing in Ukraine’s southeast would be a positive development, argued Graham, but the alleged Russian presence on the ground in Ukraine “makes any attempt to bring about a united Ukraine a joke,” the Republican senator asserted.
The Minsk talks concluded on Thursday with a thirteen-point agreement signed by all parties involved. The first element of the agreement to be implemented will be a ceasefire beginning on Sunday, February 15, which will be monitored by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The new agreement includes provisions to shore up Ukrainian control over its borders, continued constitutional reforms, such as decentralization, which has been a central political issue for the country’s eastern provinces.
