NATO's military "pumping" of Ukraine stimulates Kiev to sabotage the Minsk agreements

 

NATO's military "pumping" of Ukraine fuels Kiev's mood to sabotage the Minsk agreements. This was emphasized by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov at the meeting of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers, quoted by TACC.

"The nightmarish scenario of military confrontation that our continent is experiencing after the famous double decision of NATO is returning. Europe is silent. "Ukraine's military" pumping "is underway, which fuels Kiev's mood to sabotage the Minsk agreements and harbors the illusion of a military solution to the conflict," said Moscow's first diplomat.

  "The organization must send a clear signal to Kiev that it is unacceptable to revise the Minsk agreements, which are an indisputable basis for resolving the conflict. "Ukraine's internal crisis will not be overcome as long as the current regime in Kiev avoids fulfilling its international legal obligations, through direct dialogue with Donetsk and Luhansk," the minister added.

  According to Lavrov, the attempts of NATO countries to turn Russia's neighbors into a springboard for confrontation with Moscow are absolutely unacceptable.

"I want to be very clear: turning our neighboring countries into a springboard for confrontation with Russia, the deployment of NATO forces in close proximity to areas strategically important for our security, is absolutely unacceptable."

Lavrov said Kiev's attempts to disregard its obligations under the Minsk agreements would lead to disaster. "Attempts to circumvent these key provisions of the Minsk package are the way to disaster," Lavrov said.

  Blinken warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting in Stockholm a day after he said Washington was ready to respond decisively, including with severe sanctions, in the event of a Russian attack.

"The best way to prevent the crisis is through diplomacy, and that is exactly what I expect to discuss with Sergei," Blinken told reporters before starting talks with Lavrov.

He said Russia and Ukraine must fully fulfill their obligations under the Minsk agreements, aimed at ending the war between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces in the eastern part of the former Soviet republic.

  Washington is ready to facilitate the process, Blinken said, but "if Russia decides to continue the confrontation, there will be serious consequences."

In turn, Lavrov told reporters that Moscow is ready for dialogue with Kiev. "We, as President Putin said, do not want any conflicts," said the first diplomat of Moscow.