Minsk Agreements

In News

• US authorities have warned Russia not to invade Ukraine and urged both countries to return to a set of agreements designed to end a separatist war by Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.

About

• Minsk Agreements were signed in 2014 and 2015 in the Belarusian capital Minsk.
• MINSK I:
  • Ukraine and the Russian-backed separatists agreed a 12-point ceasefire deal in the Belarusian capital in 2014.
  • Its provisions included prisoner exchanges, deliveries of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of heavy weapons.
  • The agreement quickly broke down, with violations by both sides.
• MINSK II:
  • Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the leaders of two pro-Russian separatist regions signed a 13-point agreement in 2015.
  • The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, gathered in Minsk at the same time issued a declaration of support for the deal.
  • It set out military and political steps that remain unimplemented.
  • A major blockage has been Russia’s insistence that it is not a party to the conflict and therefore is not bound by its terms.
• Point 10
  • It calls for the withdrawal of all foreign armed formations and military equipment from the two disputed regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.

Source: IE