Disinfo: Ukraine does not implement the Minsk agreements because it is controlled by the West

Summary

One of the main obstacles to the Minsk agreements is “Kyiv’s unwillingness to engage in normal dialogue with Donetsk and Luhansk. This obligation is obviously not being met, although this is one of the main conditions of the Minsk package”. (…) From Kyiv, in statements by deputies close to the President, it was repeatedly heard that the army should be ready to use force, if necessary, to reclaim the Donbas areas. In other words, the military aspect is also visible, although the Normandy format was originally planned as an opportunity to solve the problems in south-eastern Ukraine in a peaceful way. Kyiv’s aim is to reorientate, to rebuild the whole system of the Minsk agreement.

Following the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Kyiv, the rhetoric on the Ukrainian side has changed dramatically, which has led to a worsening of the situation in the Donbas. Ukraine is a controlled country, and for the United States, the worsening of relations between Ukraine and Russia is now more important than the peaceful settlement in Ukraine. (…) Ukraine is not a fully sovereign state. Therefore, it must be understood that the current situation is not being led by Ukraine itself, not by its people, but by the forces in Europe and the US, which are behind the current Ukrainian leadership and are using Ukraine for their own purposes.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that Ukraine refuses to implement the Minsk agreements, undermining the statehood of Ukraine and alleging that Ukraine is a state under foreign control.

Since 2014, negotiations with Russia to resolve the conflict in the Donbas have been held within the framework of the Normandy Format and the Minsk process. A special Trilateral contact group is working on a peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas. Three parties are involved in this process: representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE. Unofficially, representatives of the so-called "LDNR" factions are also present. Ukraine is not the only party to the conflict in the Donbas. In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Russia's military presence in Ukraine.

The second set of measures to implement the Minsk agreements was signed on 12 February 2015. But there are no conditions that the Ukrainian authorities should conduct direct negotiations with the leaders of the self-proclaimed "republics DNR/LNR" in the Minsk agreements that are supported by Russia.

Moreover, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on the progress of the Assembly's monitoring procedure which stated concerns over Russia on condition of human rights and rule of law, 'borderisation' and creeping annexation of Georgian regions, implementation of the Minsk agreements and cooperation over the downing of the MH17 flight.

Ukraine is a sovereign, independent state. Relations between the EU, US and Ukraine are bilateral relations between independent countries. They are established on an equal basis.

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Reported in: Issue 185
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17/02/2020
Language/target audience: German
Country: Russia, Ukraine, US
Keywords: War in Ukraine, Donbas, Minsk agreements, Ukrainian statehood
Outlet: Sputnik Deutschland

Two top US officials say there is no prospect of returning Crimea to Ukraine

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said there is no historical prospect of Crimea returning to Ukraine.

February 21, 2020

Disproof

This statement has no evidence. See a similar case that the US recognised Crimea as Russian.

This disinformation case spread in the context of a visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Ukraine. In addition to official meetings, he held informal meetings with Ukrainian activists. During a meeting with Crimean representatives, the former deputy head of the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine, the representative of the Crimean Tatar people Emine Dzheppar, asked the White House to keep annexed Crimea insight of US foreign policy and categorically denies that Pompeo said anything about the impossibility of returning Crimea to Ukraine.

PACE is rude to Russia

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has a boorish and politicised approach to Russia. The one who wrote the PACE resolution [No. 2325] is a liar. PACE documents are superficial, one-sided and politicised. Russia is not a party to the Minsk agreements, is not guilty of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and Crimea chose to be reunited with Russia.

February 21, 2020

Disproof

Russian officials were angered by PACE Resolution No. 2325, which concerns countries under the control of the Parliamentary Assembly. Among other things, the document contains criticisms of Russia's anti-democratic actions both domestically and in relation to other countries. The resolution says that “Russia is reinforcing the negative tendencies of democracy, the rule of law and human rights”, continues to establish “borders” and carries out the “creeping annexation of the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia”, and also continues the “illegal annexation of Crimea and military aggression in the east of Ukraine.”

In addition, the document contains a number of requirements for Russia: “to reverse its illegal annexation of Crimea”. Also, among the PACE requirements for Russia, there are clauses on “fully implementing the Minsk agreements to which the Russian Federation is a party and to end its military intervention in, and support for, illegally armed formations in Eastern Ukraine” and “unconditionally and fully co-operate with the joint investigation team and the Dutch prosecution service in bringing those responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 to justice.”

NATO is such a disaster that the US didn’t want its help after 9/11

NATO is such a disaster that the only time that it tried to invoke its Article 5 for mutual defence, after the 9/11 attacks in the US, Washington said no because it didn’t want to be babysitting the other countries.

February 21, 2020

Disproof

The allegations are false. On September 12th 2001, one day after the 9/11 attacks, all NATO countries voted unanimously to invoke Article 5, as had been previously requested by US National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice. Troops from 51 NATO and partner nations took part in the subsequent operation of the Atlantic Alliance in Afghanistan, assuming the leadership of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in August 2003. Over 1,000 soldiers from America’s NATO allies have since died in the Afghanistan War.

This is part of a recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative aiming to portray NATO as a dysfunctional and useless institution which has lost its purpose after the USSR's dissolution. You can see other examples of disinformation on NATO in our database, such as its obsolescence, cannibalistic character, fascistic tendencies and links to white supremacist ideology, its never-ending provocations, its attempts to block Moscow in its sphere of influence, the Alliance's permanent targeting of Russia and Belarus, its role as a US subjugation tool for other countries and its unreliability to defend its members, its plans to continue attacking other countries, or the claims that NATO's anti-Russian stance is the only unifying force among its members and that it caused massive casualties during its bombing campaign against Serbia.