The Minsk II agreement has NEVER been fulfilled by either side. The first agreement failed because both broke ceasefire.
Following the collapse of Minsk I, another agreement was decided upon February 2015 when Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk rebel forces and Russia brokered by France and Germany. The Minsk II agreements proposed 13 steps to end the conflict. Out of these 13 steps, steps like granting greater self-governance in the breakaway regions and more autonomy to Donetsk and Luhansk stand out. It also called for removal of foreign armies and weapons while giving full control of the state border to the government of Ukraine.
There were several reasons as to why the agreements did not work. The agreements were signed at a time when Ukraine’s army was depleted owing to the severe losses it suffered in the town of Debaltseve and lost the Donetsk International Airport to the rebels. He outlined one crucial point - Russia fails to understand that it is also a party to the Minsk Agreement as it backs the rebels with military and weapons support.
“The No. 1 thing is that Russia refuses to acknowledge that it is a party to the Minsk agreements, and that it has obligations under the Minsk agreements, which it has never fulfilled," Volker was quoted as saying by foreign policy.
Another challenge that Ukraine faces is internal hostility from its citizens if those agreements are followed. If Ukraine fully implements the measures mentioned in the Minsk agreements it would mean bowing down to Moscow. Allowing elections in Donbass means allowing Russian proxies in the Ukrainian parliament undermining Ukrainian sovereignty.
It also would anger Ukrainian citizens as hundreds if not thousands of Ukrainian servicemen have lost their lives in the crisis, according to Duncan Allan, a fellow at Chatham House. “The key political provisions are incompatible, in my opinion, with Ukraine’s existence as a sovereign country," Allan told Open Democracy.
Blinken chose to highlight earlier last month that Ukraine did pave the path for implementing some of the measures mentioned in the Minsk agreements, referring to former president Petro Poroshenko steps to allow for decentralization in 2015 but highlighted that Russia did nothing to keep promises. Ukraine would only allow for decentralization and give more powers to the regions if and when foreign troops - Russian forces - withdraw.
However, despite all that, Minsk agreements are what people believe can help restore peace. As Volker pointed out while speaking to Foreign Policy, “Everybody keeps clinging to the Minsk agreements because at least they say, with Russia’s signature attached, that they respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. So, nobody wants to give that up."
Experts say that the Minsk agreements were signed when Ukraine suffered military losses and risks installing Russian proxies in Ukrainian parliament
www.news18.com
Both countries needed to try.
Ukraine has spent 8 years refusing to deal with Russia. And Russia has continued to fund rebels.
There has been nothing in terms of autonomy for the peoples living in the disputed areas
Their lives have been dreadful. 800000 Russians live in those areas. 68000 have left to go back to Russia to stay until this is over.
If Ukraine sat down with Russia and agreed to autonomy for the 2 rebel states / newly named as republics that would be a posotive development. Then you might just find that Russia would leave.
www.theguardian.com
mid.ru
