KIEV, April 14. /TASS/. Ukraine’s incumbent President Pyotr Poroshenko, who is running for his second term in office, said on Sunday once reelected he would spare no effort to achieve peace in Donbass but on condition that Ukraine remains a unitary state, which basically runs counter to the Minsk agreements on the settlement of the conflict in Donbass.

"The first thing I want to bring immediately after my win in the presidential elections is peace, the beginning of a political process in Donbass on condition that Ukraine remains a unitary state and its territorial integrity and independence is preserved and restored," he said in an interview with the Ukraina television channel.

"And the second position is development of economic cooperation, support to us on the international arena, further sanctions and the development of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea region," he added.

Minsk agreements

Peace settlement of the conflict in Donbass rests on the Package of Measures, known as Minsk-2, that was signed by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine comprising senior representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the European security watchdog OSCE on February 12, 2015, after marathon 16-hour talks between the leaders of the Normandy Four nations, namely Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine. The 13-point document envisages a ceasefire between Ukrainian government forces and people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk starting and subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of engagement. The deal also lays out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and a constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.

The Package of Measures was later approved by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2202. The UN Security Council called on all the parties to ensure its complete implementation.

These agreements that were initially planned to be implemented by the end of 2015 have not been fulfilled until now. The Ukrainian side has been dodging implementation of the package’s political provisions citing security problems as a reason.