Russian foreign minister blames the West for deadlock in eastern Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is blaming the West for continued failures to meet the aims of the Minsk II ceasefire agreement signed between Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany on February 12, 2015.

“Unfortunately, not everything depends on us,” Lavrov said at a meeting today with students at Belarusian State University in Minsk. “Recently, though, our Western counterparts have come to understand ‘where at the heart of the matter lies’ and who is responsible for the continuing deadlock.”

Lavrov said he believed the signing of the Minsk II ceasefire agreements reflected a realization by America and Europe that it was necessary not only to stop driving wedges between Ukraine and its regional neighbors, but also internally within Ukrainian society.

“Now, there is no denying the need for strict observance of the Minsk agreements,” he explained. 

Multilateral talks in Minsk, Belarus, on February 11, 2015, resulted in a second ceasefire agreement to halt the conflict in Ukraine.

The Minsk II ceasefire agreements created a 30-mile (50-kilometer) buffer zone between the artilleries of Ukrainian troops and separatist forces. The ceasefire has been violated almost daily since the signing of the Minsk II agreements.