VIENNA, February 1. /TASS/. The initiative on Donbass put forward by Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Representative Martin Sajdik runs counter to the letter and spirit of the Minsk Agreements, Russian Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich said on Friday.

"We have seen media reports about a plan to engage the United Nations in efforts to resolve the crisis, which was put forward by Ambassador Martin Sajdik. This plan runs counter to the letter and spirit of the Minsk Agreements that closely link security and political issues. And the main thing is that the plan completely ignores the role of the [Donbass] republics and the need to build dialogue with them, while it is impossible to resolve the conflict without it," the Russian envoy pointed out.

At the same time, Lukashevich noted that in September 2017, Russia had circulated a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council countries, which concerned the establishment of a United Nations mission to ensure the safety of OSCE Special Monitoring Mission members. "The document replaces neither the Minsk Agreements, nor the Normandy Quartet platform nor the OSCE mission nor the Contact Group. We call for substantive work on this project, which can pave the way for compromise," Lukashevich stressed.

Sajdik’s plan

Sajdik said in an interview with Austria’s Kleine Zeitung newspaper last week there was a plan that could help resolve the Donbass crisis, replacing the Minsk Agreements. The plan allegedly implies involving the United Nations in the process through deploying a police mission to Ukraine and creating an EU-sponsored agency on the region’s reconstruction. However, according to the OSCE envoy, the plan needs to be ratified by the Russian and Ukrainian parliaments to take effect.

The Donbass republics have already opposed Sajdik’s initiative, saying it was an attempt to sabotage the Minsk process. The republics pointed out that the Minsk Package of Measures had been signed by an OSCE representative in February 2015 and approved by the United Nations Security Council.

Moscow, in turn, expressed surprise at Sajdik’s initiative. "Russia’s position has been consistent: we believe that the path to peace in Donbass is through faithfully implementing the Minsk Agreements," said Russian Representative to the Contact Group on resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine Boris Gryzlov.