US and EU Accused Russia of Blocking the Donbass Conflict Resolution

During the UN Security Council conference, representatives of the United States and several European countries called on Moscow to implement the Minsk agreements. On Thursday, the United States and the European Union accused Russia of blocking any solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. This statement was made during a conference of the UN Security Council convened at the initiative of Moscow to mark the sixth anniversary of the signing of the second Minsk Agreement, a document agreed in February 2015 by the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia to resolve the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. “Russia must immediately stop its aggression in eastern Ukraine and end its occupation of Crimea,” said Rod Tucker, who heads the US delegation to the UN Security Council. “We call on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine, stop supporting its puppets and other armed groups, and fulfill all obligations taken over by (Moscow) within the framework of the Minsk agreements”. A joint statement condemning the continuing unstable situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine was made by the European members of the Security Council, including Germany, which, together with France, sponsored the Minsk agreements between Moscow and Kiev. “By using force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, Russia is clearly violating the fundamental principles of international law,” the statement says. “We again call on the Russian Federation to immediately stop fomenting the conflict, providing financial and military support to the armed formations ... We remain deeply concerned the presence of Russian military equipment and military personnel in non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine. " Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Vasily Nebenzya denied accusations of Western countries and, in turn, accused Ukraine of non-compliance with the provisions of the Minsk agreements with the support of French and German "patrons". Nebenzya also accused Kiev of "complete indifference" to the Donbass residents. French Permanent Representative to the UN Nicolas de Riviere criticized the speech of the Russian representative and called the accusations against France and Germany "unfounded". Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs said the situation in eastern Ukraine would remain "troubled" until a lasting political solution was reached. “If negotiations reach an impasse, there is a real risk of worsening the situation,” DiCarlo said. “We are deeply concerned about the increase in security incidents in several hot spots along the contact line over recent months. This dangerous trend must be quickly stopped."