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Kiev needs to fulfill Minsk agreements to get full control over border — Russia’s UN envoy

"This is what the Minsk agreements state," Vasily Nebenzya said

UN, March 9. /TASS/. To get full control over the country’s eastern borders, the Kiev government needs to implement the political provisions of the Minsk reconciliation agreements first, Russia’s UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, has told the UN Security Council.

He said that Moscow "is directly interested in returning the situation in Ukraine back to normal as soon as possible."

"We would like to remind to everyone, including today’s speakers, that before Ukraine regains control over the border, it must implement the political provisions of the agreements. This is the precondition for handing over the control," he said.

"This is what the Minsk agreements state. Those who like to make references to them, should read them again first," the diplomat added, commenting on other states’ criticism of Russia.

"The Kiev government’s bosses have given them a carte blanche to do and say everything they want to," he said. "As long as this carte blanche remains in place, as long as Kiev keeps derailing the Minsk agreements, as long as it refuses to engage in dialogue with its own citizens and continues to falsely portray Russia - not its own people - as a party to the conflict, nothing good will come out of it. There will be no true settlement," he said.

Peace settlement of the conflict in Donbass rests on the Package of Measures, known as Minsk-2, that was signed by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising senior representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the European security watchdog OSCE on February 12, 2015, after marathon 16-hour talks between the leaders of the Normandy Four nations, namely Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine. The 13-point document envisages a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk starting and subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of engagement. The deal also lays out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and a constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.