Minsk accord best chance to solve Ukraine crisis : Austrian FM

Ukrainian servicemen take part in military exercises near Schastya, in Lugansk region
Ukrainian servicemen take part in military exercises near Schastya, in Lugansk region
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Reuters, Brussels :
The Minsk agreement to end fighting in eastern Ukraine is the biggest chance to solve Ukraine crisis peacefully and European leaders should not declare it has failed, Austria’s foreign minister said on Monday.
“I think in spite of its laboriousness and delays, there have been slight improvements and I think that we have to be aware that Minsk is the only tool we have. Minsk is the biggest chance for a peaceful solution,” Austria’s foreign minister Sebastian Kurz said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
In February the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France agreed a deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine at talks in Minsk, Belarus.
Kiev report adds: Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko slammed a month-old peace deal with pro-Russian rebels as “not working” Sunday as a pro-government militia member was killed in continuing clashes.
“The truth is that the accord is not working,” Poroshenko told Germany’s Bild newspaper in an interview at the start of a two-day visit to Berlin, accusing the separatists of reneging on their end of the February 12 accord.
Poroshenko accused the rebels of continuing to attack government positions on a daily basis, “often more than 60 times a day”, and of thwarting the work of European ceasefire monitors.
The monitors from the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe say they cannot confirm both sides are fulfilling their commitment to withdraw heavy weapons without being given full access to their inventories.
The observers have particularly complained of obstructions in inspections on the rebel side.
Poroshenko, who is to hold talks on Monday with Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the architects of the peace deal, said the Minsk agreement was “a hope, not a reality.”
“There has to be a reaction to the violation of the ceasefire. It could be more sanctions — in any case the current sanctions should be extended to the end of the year,” he said, referring to EU and US measures taken against Russia.
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