Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the Ukrainian government is escalating the situation in Donbass and does so with the silent permission of the West, the Kremlin’s press service has stated.
Putin also stressed that this escalation is taking place as Ukraine is being “pumped with” advanced weapons. The latter creates security threats for Russia itself, the president added in a telephone call with Macron according to the Kremlin’s press service.
The telephone call between the two presidents comes amid increased attention by the West over the alleged military buildup of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine. This attention is coupled with calls from Moscow to pay greater attention towards the lack of efforts on Kiev’s part to fulfill the provisions of the Minsk agreements being ignored.
These agreements were signed in 2015 by the Ukrainian government and the representatives of the two self-proclaimed people’s republics in the country’s east, which rebelled against Kiev following a western-backed coup in 2014. The agreements were backed by Russia and several European countries, including France. However, none of the western backers heeded Moscow’s calls to pressure Ukraine to begin honouring its obligations under the Minsk agreements.
Source: Sputnik
