MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. The law on the admission of foreign troops to the territory of Ukraine, even by the UN or EU decision, contradicts the Minsk agreements, a Russian lawmaker said on Thursday.

Head of the Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots in the State Duma lower house of parliament Leonid Slutsky made this statement to TASS, commenting on the relevant law adopted by the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament).

The Rada approved earlier on Thursday in the first reading and as a whole the bill "On amendments to the Ukrainian Law "On the order of admission and conditions of stay of armed forces of other states in the territory of Ukraine." A total 240 deputies with the required minimum of 226 MPs voted for the decision.

"Minsk-2 did not provide for the participation of even peacekeepers in the settlement of the Ukrainian internal conflict. The law can only provoke an increase in the number of foreign mercenaries of the Kiev regime for suppressing the resistance of militias and further conflict escalation," Slutsky said.

According to him, Ukraine’s current authorities are systematically deviating from the Minsk agreements both in legislative and practical terms. "These deviations manifest themselves in the resumption of shelling of the civilian population of Donbass, and also in Rada decisions," said the Duma official.

In this context, Slutsky called unpromising Poroshenko’s statements regarding power decentralisation. "Against the background of the Ukrainian president’s intention to carry out unification of the Ukrainian security system according to NATO standards and unwillingness to restore economic and social ties with the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, all his other statements are declarative and are a front for a military solution to the issue. I’m not tired of repeating that Kiev authorities are afraid of peace more than war, on which both corruption and the current chaos in Ukraine are blamed," he said.

The Duma committee head said that Poroshenko’s ostentatious "dissatisfaction" with his own work, as well as the work of the Verkhovna Rada and Ukrainian government was just "a play for the rating." "But this is just putting on a good face," Slutsky said.

First deputy head of the United Russia faction in the State Duma, member of Duma Defence Committee Frants Klintsevich for his part called "dummy" Rada’s Thursday law on the admission of foreign military to Ukraine. "The bill, passed by the Verkhovna Rada is a dummy, a sheer spin and propaganda. It is doomed to failure as a legal document," the lawmaker told reporters.

He admitted that he could not "imagine a situation in which the United Nations would support the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine." The Russian politician said such a decision could be taken only if Russia votes for it. "But our fundamental position is that the presence of so-called international peacekeeping forces in the Donbass region, further splitting the country, is contrary to the Minsk agreements," Klintsevich said.

"The bill’s provision, saying that a European Union’s decision would be sufficient for such an operation is also meaningless," says the MP. According to him, "Western leaders will never take this step, as they realise that their countries thus become directly involved in the conflict on the side of Kiev with all the ensuing consequences.".