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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said what would happen if Russia recognizes the so-called “Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics.” MFA head said this during a briefing on February 15.
According to him, this will mean a withdrawal from the Minsk agreements.
“I would like to once again remind Ukraine’s unchanging position: if a decision is made to recognize the so-called “Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics,” Russia will de facto and de jure withdraw from the Minsk agreements,” he said.
Earlier, the Russian parliament would consider a motion to recognize two Kremlin proxy groups in the Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine’s Donbas as independent states. The move came amid an escalation of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. A draft of the address was submitted to the State Duma on Jan. 19 by the Communist Party.
The lawmakers emphasize Russia’s involvement in the “peaceful settlement” of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, as well as the country’s provision of “humanitarian aid” to the self-proclaimed republics since 2014. The authors of the draft appeal also claim that in recent years, “democratic bodies and governments with all the attributes of legitimate power have been built” in these breakaway regions.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Kremlin has issued 720,000 passports to Ukrainians, who live in the unrecognized Donetsk and Luhansk republics. According to Kuleba, this is a gross violation of the Minsk peace agreements.
Read also: Blinken: Ukraine implementing Minsk deal, Russia failing to do its part
