MOSCOW, February 17 – RIA Novosti. The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was the person who initiated the development of a UN Security Council resolution on the Minsk agreements.

Vladislav Surkov, former vice-president of Russia, who previously oversaw the Ukrainian direction, said that while working on the Minsk agreements, he did not expect them to be implemented. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was not initially pessimistic about the deals.

“All the talk about whether Russia plans to implement the Minsk agreements or not, is becoming a reality – Sergei Lavrov himself initiated the development of a UN Security Council resolution mandating their implementation,” Zakharova wrote on the Telegram channel.

Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky admitted in an interview with Spiegel that he had told German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron that the Minsk agreements were “impossible” and that he did not plan to implement them. Prior to that, Merkel (who served as chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021) said that “the 2014 Minsk agreement was an attempt to give Ukraine time to strengthen.” In turn, François Hollande, who served as French president from 2012 to 2017, agreed with Merkel that the Minsk agreements gave the Kiev regime time to strengthen. Both attended the Normandy Quadruple summit, where a set of measures was agreed to implement the Minsk agreements. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said during a visit to Kiev in late January that the “Norman format” of the Ukraine talks was a “diplomatic imitation”.

A set of measures to implement these agreements was signed in Minsk on February 12, 2015. The 13-item document provided for a ceasefire, especially in Donbass, the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the border line between the Kiev security forces and the militia, as well as other measures for a long-term political solution. The situation in Donbass.

Kiev systematically violated the Minsk agreements, and as a result, on February 22 this year, Russia recognized the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics. As the President of Russia Vladimir Putin noted, the recognition of the Donbass republics was determined by the fact that Kiev made it clear that it would not comply with the Minsk agreements, it was no longer possible to wait.

Russia has been conducting a special military operation in Ukraine since February 24. Putin called his mandate “protecting people who have been subjected to eight years of bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime.” According to the president, the ultimate goal of the operation is the liberation of Donbass and the creation of conditions that guarantee Russia’s security. Earlier, Putin said that the West is trying to create an anti-Russian enclave in Ukraine in order for Russia to collapse, and a special operation has been launched to prevent this. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted, the United States and NATO are “directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine … on the territory of Great Britain, Germany, Italy … not only in the supply of weapons, but also in the training of personnel.” and other countries.”