Statements on new sanctions attempt to distract attention from Minsk deal — Lavrov

The statements on new sanctions against Russia voiced by US State Secretary John Kerry and European Council President Donald Tusk come in an attempt to divert attention from the implementation of the Minsk agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
"I think that everything can be explained very simply. They try to whip up public hysteria and distract attention from the need to fulfill the Minsk agreements," the Russian foreign minister said.

"These calls signal that the politicians from the particular countries and organizations, the US and the EU, do not wish to seek the implementation of what was agreed in Minsk on February 12," Lavrov said.
The diplomat also criticized the calls to condemn militias and Moscow for the disruption of truce in Ukraine’s south-east.
"All the calls for condemning militias and Russia or anyone else for the disruption of the truce are aimed at preventing the situation from switching to the political settlement and dialogue between Kiev and the representatives of the south-east, and an equal dialogue," Lavrov said.

"The most important thing now is not to cater to the whims of certain Western countries or politicians who are threatening us with sanctions, but to guarantee peace and sustainable political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," Lavrov said. "For that there must be proper monitoring of the pullback of heavy armaments, which the Lugansk and Donetsk people’s republics have already begun. We would like to have the process verified by the OSCE. We have been promised that the OSCE will join that process. Alongside this everything else that was agreed on must be implemented. In the first place, the constitutional reform involving the territories concerned. They must enjoy decentralization in keeping with the principles that were outlined in detail in the Minsk documents of February 12."