Interfax: UNSC unanimously backs Russian resolution supporting Minsk deal
(Interfax – February 18, 2015)
The United Nations Security Council unanimously backed a resolution supporting the Minsk deal for Ukraine on Tuesday.
The resolution was proposed by Russia.
It said, for instance, that every warring side in Ukraine should fully implement the Minsk agreements.
The UN Security Council members expressed concern about the hostilities in eastern Ukraine and declared the need for observing the Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The resolution emphasized that the Ukraine conflict could have only a peaceful solution.
Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin: UNSC members try to rewrite Minsk agreements
“Some colleagues have taken the customary path of rhetoric which is not always harmless. Attempts to rewrite the Minsk agreements are particularly harmful under the current circumstances. Some delegations pointed to specific provisions and suggested another way the agreements should actually be,” Rossiyskaya Gazeta quoted Churkin as saying.
Instead of doing so, Kiev should launch “an inclusive and transparent dialogue” with eastern Ukraine, the diplomat said. He recalled that the Ukrainian army’s attacks on Donbass towns had disrupted the peace deal reached in September.
The envoy lauded the results of the Minsk negotiations and confirmed “the full preparedness of Russia to assist in the fulfillment of the agreements.”
“The agreements should be observed by all asides,” the diplomat said, urging “to avoid unilateral measures that would go against the letter and the spirit of these documents.”
“Ukraine has a real chance to turn this dramatic page in its history,” he said.
On Tuesday the UN Security Council unanimously backed a resolution supporting the Minsk peace deal for Ukraine reached on February 12.
The document put forward by Russia called on the warring sides “to ensure the complete fulfillment of the package, including a full ceasefire” and expressed “respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.