Situationen i Ukraina just nu, del 4

KIEV, February 4. /TASS/. At all levels, Ukrainian government officials rule out the possibility of engaging in a direct dialogue with the self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR), although this form of communication is envisaged by the Minsk agreements, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has said.

(...)

Efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Donbass are based on the Minsk Agreements, which particularly include moves to declare a ceasefire, withdraw weapons, declare amnesty, restore economic ties and conduct constitutional reform in Ukraine through dialogue with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR), aimed at decentralizing power and providing a special status to certain districts in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

However, the negotiation process has actually stalled because of Kiev’s refusal to fulfill the political provisions of the Minsk accords. In particular, Kiev is reluctant to build any direct dialogue with the DPR and LPR and enshrine the region's special status in the constitution and demands to have control of Donbass’ border with Russia before the implementation of the political provisions of the accords. Meanwhile, under Paragraph Nine of the Package of Measures on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, work to restore full control over the border should begin the next day after local elections take place and be completed only after a comprehensive political solution is found.

MINSK, February 3. /TASS/. Minsk has lodged a protest with Kiev over a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) illegally crossing the Belarusian border, the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry stated on Thursday.

"On February 3, the foreign ministry summoned Ukrainian Ambassador to Belarus Igor Kizim to protest against the targeted launch of a UAV from Ukraine to Belarus," the press service noted.

As the Belarusian Foreign Ministry noted, on January 24, the Ukrainian drone illegally crossed the Belarusian state border and was forced to land. "According to the analysis of on-board equipment data, it was confirmed that it was launched from Ukraine to carry out illegal reconnaissance activities over the Brestsky training ground," the diplomatic service pointed out.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry told Kiev that "through these unfriendly steps, [Ukraine] is deliberately fueling an escalation of the situation in the region, which does not contribute to a civilized bilateral dialogue." Minsk also called on Kiev to avoid such destructive actions in the future, according to the press service.