On 4 December, the heads of the Russian occupation administrations joined United Russia, Russia's ruling party. The leader of one of them, speaking on air of Russian media, rejected the Minsk peace plan, stating that he doesn't see any point in returning the territories of the self-proclaimed "republics" under control of Ukraine. This fact further undermines the seven-year-long Russian propaganda narrative of the "civil war in Ukraine" and the Russian demand that Ukraine should negotiate directly with "representatives of Luhansk and Donetsk."
"In any case, we should sit down with him (Volodymyr Zelenskyy, - Ed.) and talk about the neighborhood policies. About the rules. It is no longer a matter of one state," Pushilin said.This statement constitutes a rejection of the Minsk protocols, which outline a plan for the solution of the conflict in Donbas and reintegration of the now-occupied territories with Ukraine. Official Kyiv and leaders of western countries currently view the Minsk peace process as the only possible solution to the war in Donbas. Western sanctions against Russia are also conditional on the implementation of the Minsk protocols.
Everything you wanted to know about the Minsk peace deal, but were afraid to ask
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's project Donbas.Realii points out that for the past seven years, the Kremlin has been officially insisting on two points about the armed conflict in Ukraine. The first is that Russia isn't taking part in the war in Ukraine, hence that is an internal conflict or a civil war. The second one, based on the first, is that for the sake of settlement of the conflict, official Kyiv should conduct direct negotiations "with Donetsk and Luhansk," while Russia is nothing else than a mediator in this process.
All the interviewed TCG members have agreed that the Russian side openly rejects the Minsk format of negotiations, denies its own positions and demands to Ukraine.
This shows up, first of all, in the fact that the members of the Russian delegation from occupied Luhansk and Donetsk don't even try to demonstrate that the occupation administrations are somehow independent of the Kremlin or at least have some independent position, according to the interviewed members of the Ukrainian delegations in TCG.
Read also:
- Ex-puppet state leader turned MP admits it is Russian Army fighting in Donbas
- Russia shuttles residents of occupied Donbas to vote in Duma elections amid accelerated passportization
- Russian elections in Ukraine’s Donbas: Annexing people before annexing territory
- Russia’s ruling party starts campaigning in occupied Donbas for upcoming Duma elections
- Donbas “People’s Republics” are heading for de facto annexation by Russia, monitors say
- New Ukraine ceasefire agreement officializes Donetsk-Luhansk militaries (2020)
- Far right and left, conspiracy theorists among “foreign monitors” at Russia’s sham Donbas elections: Report (2018)
- Putin’s United Russia party establishes reign over occupied Crimea (2014)
