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Kiev needs to settle Donbass conflict on its own, says Kremlin spokesman

"There have not been any of our military units in Ukraine’s southeast," Dmitry Peskov stressed
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Vitaly Nevar/TASS
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov
© Vitaly Nevar/TASS

MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. No Russian military units have ever been in the southeast of Ukraine, Kiev must resolve the Donbass conflict on its own, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

The Kremlin spokesman commented on the statement, made by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen following the EU-Ukraine summit in Kiev, that Russia should admit its responsibility as a party to the Donbass conflict.

"There have not been any of our military units in Ukraine’s southeast. Ukraine, first of all, must settle this issue on its own, and it can only be done by implementing the Minsk agreements," Peskov noted.

Furthermore, the presidential spokesman emphasized that "Crimea should not be a topic for discussion between the EU and Ukraine," while commenting on the statements that Russia supposedly needed to withdraw its military forces from Crimea.

At the end of the EU-Ukraine summit, Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU called on Russia to recognize its responsibility as a party to the Donbass conflict. She noted that Brussels continued to support the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Russia has repeatedly denied its involvement in the Donbass conflict.