Today at 17:26
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to UN Serhiy Kyslytsia sent an appeal to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and all members of the organization, drawing attention to the possible consequences of the decision of the Russian State Duma to initiate recognition of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics.” The press office of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations reported.
Russia’s recognition of the self-proclaimed republics will mean its conscious withdrawal from the Minsk agreements and will deal a serious blow to the political and diplomatic settlement, Kyslytsia said.
Kyslytsia informed the UN Secretary-General that the Ukrainian side called on Russia to take a constructive position in order to make progress within the existing negotiation formats. Otherwise, he said, Russia will bear full responsibility for the destruction of the Minsk agreements and the process of peaceful settlement of the armed conflict.
According to Kyslytsia , Russia’s current actions are repeating a similar algorithm in 2008 is of particular concern – the State Duma passed a resolution to appeal to then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the need to recognize the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia. the corresponding decree appeared.
Russia’s State Duma has voted to appeal to President Vladimir Putin to recognize the occupied regions of eastern Ukraine as “independent states.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not answer directly whether he would recognize occupied Donbas, hinting that the West should put pressure on the Ukrainian authorities to implement the Minsk agreements though.
Ukrainian government stated that if Russia recognizes self-proclaimed Donbas, it will mean withdrawal from the Minsk peace deal.
Read also: Russia ignores OSCE meeting on its military actions towards Ukraine
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.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia are disputed territories in the Caucasus. The central government of Georgia considers the republics under military occupation by Russia. They are both recognized as independent by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria. Russia’s initial recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia occurred in the aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War in 2008. Russia became the first UN member state to recognize South Ossetia.
