KIEV, January 24. /TASS/. Ukraine is not willing to sign a peace agreement with Russia which in any way resembles the documents signed to settle the Donbass conflict in 2014 and 2015 with the mediation of Germany and France, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in an opinion piece published by the US newspaper Politico on Tuesday.
"The flaws of the Minsk process must not be repeated. In fact, they must serve as an example of how not to negotiate with Russia," he wrote.
According to the Ukrainian top diplomat, authors of the Minsk agreements thought that fixing the status quo and reducing tensions would gradually ease the conflict, but this did not happen.
"Any hypothetical "Minsk-3" can have only one result: an even bloodier war," he wrote.
"Some people in the United States and elsewhere in the West continue to suggest that Ukraine needs to engage in peace negotiations with Russia as soon as possible," Kuleba added. "Partners should force Russia, not Ukraine, into concessions."
In an interview with Die Zeit last December, former German chancellor Angela Merkel described the 2014 conclusion of the Minsk Agreements as an effort to buy Ukraine time to become stronger. According to her, it was clear to everyone that the conflict was stalled and the issue had not been resolved, "but this was what gave Ukraine invaluable time." Russian President Vladimir Putin later said Merkel’s remark about the Minsk accords took him by surprise and disappointed him.
In late 2022, ex-president of France Francois Hollande, who was directly involved in efforts to conclude the Minsk Agreements in 2015, confirmed Merkel’s statements that these accords were needed to give Kiev time to prepare for an armed conflict.