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US should work closely with Kiev for Minsk peace deal implementation — Russian diplomat

"I don’t share the opinion that the Minsk agreements are a separate issue and that the US administration is out of context of this deal," Russian deputy foreign minister said

MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. Washington should work closely and constantly with Kiev if it wants the Minsk peace deal to be fulfilled, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Thursday commenting on the statement of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

"I don’t share the opinion that the Minsk agreements are a separate issue and that the US administration is out of context of this deal," the high-ranking diplomat said. "If Washington seeks the Minsk deal implementation, it should work closely and constantly to this aim with Kiev. There will be no success without that," he said.

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Ryabkov noted that "the longer is this deadlock due to the destructive line of the Kiev authorities, the fewer chances remain that these agreements may be fulfilled in principle." "Possibly someone in Washington, especially in the Congress, is interested in this, in order to later blame the Russian side upon the notorious tradition," he said. "But we are used to such steps."

The diplomat noted that this stance of some part of the US political elite has no relation to Russia’s consistent line. "This is their own deviation from diplomatic and political norms. I have no idea when this deviation will be corrected and this stance can be overcome."

"Certainly, this does not work towards improving bilateral relations with the US, but that’s the reality and we have to deal with it," Ryabkov said.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday Washington does not want to link the settlement in Ukraine only to the Minsk agreements. He admitted that the conflict may be resolved through the direct efforts of Moscow and Kiev, but based on the agreements, which are alternative to those reached in Minsk.

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