MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. The Western countries violate the Minsk Accords by saying they are ready to send their military and to supply weapons to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Wednesday.
"Regrettably, we have to say that Kiev’s warmongering receives support from the United States and its NATO allies. They are stepping up efforts to increase their presence in Ukraine and in the Black Sea region in military terms," she said.
"From the European countries one can hear statements they are ready to move extra contingents to Ukraine, although the package of measures to implement the Minsk Accords, in particular, paragraph 10 requires pullout of all military units, equipment and mercenaries from Ukraine under OSCE observation. It turns out that not only Kiev, but the Western countries, too, violate the Minsk Accords," she said.
The United States and its allies held an unscheduled exercise in the Black Sea at the beginning of November.
"It was a provocation staged in pursuit of an obvious aim - to send a message to Kiev its aggressive policy enjoys support. In this way NATO directly involves Kiev, and it does so in every possible way, in its plans for Russia’s containment. Regrettably, the authorities in Kiev are still unaware that their country is being used. The West does not consider their country as a sovereign state. It is being treated as an instrument," she said.
NATO’s statements about higher combat readiness in the Black Sea region, Zakharova said, "are being made in order to conceal or excuse one’s own actions and preparations."
Moscow, she recalled, is calling upon the Western partners to refrain from fanning tensions, fraught with serious consequences for regional security and stability.
Situation in Ukraine
Zakharova said that the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission had registered a considerable increase in ceasefire violations in Ukraine. In October, there were about 6,000 cases, while in the first week of November, more than 8,000, Zakharova said.
"The Ukrainian military systematically bombards civilian infrastructure in Donbass, in the first place, gas, power and water supply facilities. They shell educational establishments, too. In fact, they have never stopped doing that. As a result, civilians, including children, get killed or wounded. There has been a considerable increase in the number of flights by reconnaissance drones. All this indicates the authorities in Kiev are getting ready for an attempt to handle the conflict in the East of Ukraine by force," Zakharova said.
In defaulting on its obligations under the Minsk Accords, she stressed, the Ukrainian authorities rubberstamp decisions that have not been discussed with Donetsk and Lugansk. For instance, the bill on the "the state policy of the transitional period" in fact ruins the Minsk Accords, which in practice will be tantamount to Ukraine’s pullout from the agreement and the collapse of the whole process of negotiations".