The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, said that the integration process with Russia does not contradict the Minsk agreements.
“After the meeting of the Normandy Four, we have understood who our friend is and who our enemy is… We want to go in the same direction with Russia, and we will proceed to it systematically, regardless of the opinion of Kyiv… Moreover, the integration processes with Russia do not contradict the Minsk agreements in any way”, – Pushilin said during a joint briefing with the head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik.
Earlier, the Donetsk People’s Republic authorities repeatedly stated that the republic is committed to integration with Russia. As Pushilin noted, Donetsk aims to further strengthen these processes.
On the night of 10 December, the leaders of the Normandy quartet (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine) adopted a communiqué following the meeting in Paris. The document stresses that the Minsk agreements remain the basis for work in the Normandy format and provides for the disengagement of forces in three new locations in Donbass by the end of March 2020. In addition, the leaders of the Normandy quartet called for a ceasefire in Donbass before the end of the year. In addition, the Normandy quartet leaders called on the contact group to ensure that the “all for all” in Donbass are exchanged before the end of the year and that the Red Cross has “full and unconditional access to all detainees”.
In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR, which declared independence after the coup d’état in Ukraine in February 2014. According to the latest UN data, about 13,000 people became victims of the conflict.
The issue of resolving the situation in Donbas is being discussed, including during meetings in Minsk of the contact group, which has already adopted three documents regulating steps to de-escalate the conflict since September 2014. However, even after the ceasefire agreements between the parties to the conflict, exchanges of fire continue.