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Kremlin assures Minsk deal will remain in force despite events in Lugansk republic

Peskov stressed that Plotnitsky’s arrival in Moscow "is not a matter of the presidential administration"

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Mikhail Metzel/TASS

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Moscow is committed to the Minsk peace deal on Ukraine despite the events in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"As for the Minsk agreements, the position, which has been stated many times by President (Vladimir) Putin, remains unchanged - there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements, and Russia is committed to the signature, which President Putin put on these agreements," Peskov said, commenting on the alleged arrival of LPR’s head Igor Plotnitsky in Moscow and its possible impact on the Minsk deal fulfillment.

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Peskov stressed that Plotnitsky’s arrival in Moscow "is not a matter of the presidential administration."

The Minsk agreements reached on February 12, 2015 by the Normandy Four (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine) leaders envisaged ceasefire and also laid out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.

The Ukrainian forces and militias of the self-proclaimed republics have repeatedly accused each other of violating ceasefire and other points of the Minsk agreements.

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