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Lavrov calls against attempts of rewriting sequence of steps in Minsk Accords

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called the Minsk agreements a breakthrough document that must be implemented "without any reservations"

Russian and Belarusian Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Vladimir Makei Valeriy Sharifulin/TASS

Russian and Belarusian Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Vladimir Makei

© Valeriy Sharifulin/TASS

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Minsk positevely assesses Russia-Belarus relations — FM

MINSK, May 16. /TASS/. Russia and Belarus insist that the Minsk agreements should be implemented completely, without attempts to rewrite the sequence of steps fixed in these agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday after talks with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei.

"We have a common position on the Ukrainian crisis. Here, in Minsk, a really breakthrough document was signed more than a year ago - on February 12, 2015. This document was recognized by all, including members of the United Nations Security Council, as the sole framework for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. It must be implemented fully, without any reservations, without any attempts to rewrite its logic and the sequence of actions," Lavrov stressed.

The Package of Measures to fulfil the September 2014 Minsk agreements, known as Minsk-2, that was signed in Minsk on February 12, 2015 envisaged a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk starting from February 15, 2015 and subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of engagement. The deal also laid out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.

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