VIENNA, February 1. /TASS/. The main reason for the continued crisis in Ukraine is Kiev’s reluctance to adhere to agreements and to hold direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich stated during a session of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna.
According to the Russian envoy, the crisis in Ukraine is far from being resolved. "The main reasons for that are Kiev’s failure to adhere to the agreements that had been reached, its reliance on the force-based scenario and the unwillingness to establish direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk," Lukashevich noted.
The Russian envoy stressed that adherence to the Minsk agreements is of crucial importance, especially now when Kiev continues to make statements about their revision or cancellation. "This month, the Minsk Package of Measures from February 12, 2015, approved by the UN Security Council, will turn four years old. It is a compulsory basis for inter-Ukrainian regulation, and it can and should be realized fully by the sides. However, Kiev blatantly sabotages the majority of its provisions, starting with paragraph one," the diplomat pointed out.
The Poroshenko regime’s endeavors are eating away at the humanitarian situation near the line of contact in Donbass, emphasized Lukashevich.
"Kiev’s actions are leading toward the deterioration of the situation near the line of contact. During the last several weeks damage to civil infrastructural facilities, including hospitals and children’s facilities, was reported. Vasilyevskaya Pumping Station repeatedly came under attack," Lukashevich said.
The permanent representative also noted that the attacks on this station (on January 23 and 29) and on cars parked nearby (January 17) were not registered in the reports issued by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM).
"We call on the mission to quickly react to reports of ceasefire violations near vital infrastructure. The SMM’s thematic report on victims and damage is needed," Lukashevich added.