LUGANSK, November 29. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is violating the Package of Measures for the implementation of the Minsk agreements, the so-called Minsk-2 package, by asking the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s national parliament) to approve his decision to deploy foreign troops in the country, Rodion Miroshnik, who represents the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) in the political subgroup of the Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine, said on Monday.
"It is worth noting that Minsk-2 stipulates the withdrawal, not the deployment of all foreign troops! It means that there can be no foreign troops and mercenaries on Ukraine’s territory. Either for drills or for parades," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
He recalled that article 10 of the Package of Measures provides for the "withdrawal of all foreign armed units, military hardware and mercenaries from Ukraine under the OSCE’s monitoring," and Zelensky reiterated his commitment to these agreements at the latest Normandy Four (Germany, France, Ukraine, Russia) summit in Parish on December 9, 2019.
Earlier on Monday, Zelensky submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill on approving his decision allowing foreign armed units to enter Ukraine to take part in international drills in 2022.
A 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 the people’s militias in the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Lugansk and the subsequent withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact. The deal also lays out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including amnesty, prisoner swaps, the resumption of economic ties, local elections and constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions.
The plan remains unimplemented to this day, largely due to Ukraine’s stance. Kiev keeps on refusing to act on the political items of the agreement. Kiev continues to avoid direct dialogue with the Donbass republics. It is reluctant to amend Ukraine’s constitution to fix Donbass’ special status and insists on being given control over the section of the border with Russia, something that is to be done only after the implementation of the political part of the agreements.