DISINFO: Ukraine blocks Donbas peace talks
SUMMARY
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is blocking peace talks on Donbas in the Minsk and Normandy formats.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets blaming the lack of progress in the Donbas peace process on Ukraine. In reality, Article One in all four Minsk agreements, signed in the Belarusian capital in 2014 and 2015, requires a complete ceasefire. Ukraine has announced several ceasefires in the hope that the separatists will follow suit, but they would violate them every time. Ukraine last announced a ceasefire in July 2020, however, the pro-Moscow forces kept breaking it. The Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) issues daily reports about hostilities.
It is impossible to move further with peace activities while the fighting is on. Any progress in Normandy-format talks, which have so far been generally considered to be the only viable format for a peace settlement, is contingent on a complete and unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine has been generally fulfilling its Normandy-format obligations whereas Russia seems to be unwilling to stop hostilities.
Since the very first international attempts at stopping the Donbas war in 2014, Russia has been putting obstacles to the peace process. Moscow has been trying to portray itself as a mediator while claiming that Kyiv and the separatists are the only parties to the conflict. However, there is plenty of evidence that Moscow is directly involved in hostilities. Besides providing the illegal DNR and LNR pseudo-republics with media coverage, Moscow has been supplying them with weapons. Ukrainian troops have also captured Russian active-duty servicemen, who claimed that they had just lost their way.
The West has clearly defined its position considering Russia a party to the Donbas conflict. The leaders of the Group of Seven, who met in Cornwall on 11-13 June 2021, said in a communiqué:
“We remain firmly of the view that Russia is a party to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, not a mediator.”
Read more disinformation narratives from pro-Kremlin outlets, alleging that Ukraine is the major obstacle to the peace process and that it constantly violates the ceasefire.