Donetsk, Apr 8 - DAN. The Donbass conflict could be settled within a year if Ukraine fulfils its obligations under the accords reached in Minsk, said Dmitry Kozak, Deputy Chief of the Administration of the President of Russia.
“From the standpoint of possibilities to settle the conflict in practice, I believe it could be settled in one year. All these issues could be resolved, if consecutive actions are taken, and previous agreements are honored. Should sides move in loops, as Ukraine and […] partners do now, then, I am afraid, a course towards the suspension of this conflict is possible," Kozak said at a meeting with experts of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Kozak, the political advisor to the Russian president at the “Normandy Four” talks, said that Moscow had been making efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Minsk Agreements by Ukraine, but “it turned out that “help can only work for the one who really wants it.”
The Agreements dated September 5 and 19, 2014 and February 12, 2015 forged by the Contact Group in Minsk make groundwork for a peaceful settlement of the Donbass conflict. The Contact Group set forth a peace plan and agreed a ceasefire, then adopted the Memorandum on ceasefire implementation and later on the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements. It envisioned immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in Donbass, withdrawal of heavy weapons, establishment of security zones, discussion of the modalities for the resumption of payment of pensions and allowances to DPR and LPR citizens, and constitutional reform in Ukraine which should result in deep decentralisation.*jk