MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. The West's approach toward the Minsk agreements freed the Kiev regime's hands to massacre Russians in Ukraine and accelerated the start of the special military operation, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya 1 TV channel.
"The Minsk agreements were just a shell game with us, and we were duped. It worsened the situation, it motivated the Kiev regime in many ways, allowing them to arrange a massacre of Russians in their nation, which accelerated the start of the special regime's operation," he commented on the statements of ex-President of France Francois Hollande on the topic of the Minsk agreements.
Former French President Francois Hollande said in a conversation with Russian pranksters on Thursday that the European Union, although not a warring party in Ukraine, is taking part in the conflict by providing assistance to Kiev.
Vladimir Kuznetsov ("Vovan") and Alexey Stolyarov ("Lexus") played a telephone prank on Hollande, calling him while posing as ex-Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko, and brought up the topic of the Ukrainian conflict.
According to Hollande, after concluding the Minsk accords, which were signed during his presidency, the parties "got stuck" due to "a lack of due pressure" on Russia. The ex-president of France reiterated that the sole objective of the Minsk agreements was to [buy time to] strengthen Ukraine’s combat capabilities.