Kremlin assesses Minsk agreements situation

Three members of the Normandy Quartet (Germany, Russia, Ukraine, France) are unwilling to see that the Minsk agreements are the key document for the settlement in Ukraine, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.

"In just a month, there will remain the only incumbent witness of the Minsk agreement - President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin," he said in an interview with the Moscow. Kremlin. Putin program on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

He recalled that back in February 2015 the four leaders "personally took part in the work" on these agreements in Minsk. "[President of Ukraine Pyotr] Poroshenko, [French President Francois] Hollande, [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel and Putin. Poroshenko is gone, as is Hollande, I mean in terms of politics, Merkel is an acting chancellor. Only Putin is incumbent," Peskov explained.

"And these three don’t’ understand, or, to be more precise, are unwilling to understand that this text is a cornerstone for the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict," he said.

The Normandy format was set up in June 2014. Five summit meetings have been held ever since. The latest summit took place in Paris on December 9, 2019.

The Package of Measures on the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, also known as Minsk-2, a peace settlement plan, was signed in Minsk in February 2015 after the marathon talks between the Normandy Four leaders. The plan has remained unimplemented to this day, largely due to Ukraine’s stance.