MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. The situation in the Donbass region is exacerbated by the Ukrainian armed forces, Russian Presidential Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on Wednesday commenting on the upcoming meeting of the Normandy Four leaders’ aides due to be held on April 6.
"They will gather in Minsk. Russia will be represented by Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov. Russia’s stance is that, unfortunately, the situation has been exacerbated by the provocations of the Ukrainian armed forces along the line of engagement. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that, due to persisting tensions, the parties have been unable to withdraw heavy weapons, as envisaged by the agreements reached earlier," Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman added that the ceasefire in the region is not in effect it, and "economically, the situation has been exacerbated by the Donbass blockade." "This list is crowned with the failure in terms of implementing the Minsk accords and Kiev’s reluctance to comply with their political part," he said.
Peskov declined to answer the question on whether Russia could come up with proposals on peacekeeping missions in the Donbass region at the upcoming meeting. "Let’s wait for the meeting," he said.