Poroshenko speaks about Russia’s withdrawal from the Minsk protocol and asks for sanctions
President Petro Poroshenko stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize documents issued to citizens by the so-called DPR (Donetsk People's Republic) and LPR (Luhansk People's Republic) effectively means that Russia has rejected the Minsk Protocol.
“We are observing continuous violations of the Minsk agreements. We see not only violations of the ceasefire, but the shameless decision to recognize bogus documents from phony republics. From the point of view of international law it is already an act of recognizing these illegal entities and the de facto rejection of the Minsk Protocol, because these actions are not compatible with the Minsk agreements. We feel that this is an alarming situation and it calls for decisive action, including increased sanctions,” said the President in a meeting with EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides.
As reported on the President’s website, Stylianides, who returned the day before from the town of Mayorsk which is on the front line, stressed that the European Union fully supports Ukraine and is using considerable diplomatic measures to get Russia to honor the Minsk agreements, which are based on unconditional respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of Ukraine.
By order of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, issued on February 18th, 2017, Russia recognizes documents, personal identification, documents related to education and/or educational qualifications, birth certificates, marriage (or divorce) certificates, change of name documents, death certificates, vehicle registrations and license plates of the so-called DPR and LPR.