Ukrainian law on admitting foreign armed forces contradicts Minsk Agreements - Miroshnik

Admitting foreign armed forces to Ukraine, as suggested by a draft law tabled by the country's president Vladimir Zelensky, is a violation of the Minsk Agreements, LPR representative in the Contact Group's political subgroup Rodion Miroshnik said.

Zelensky filed a bill with the Verkhovnaya Rada to approve the decision of the president of Ukraine on the admission of units of the armed forces of other states to the territory of Ukraine in 2022 for participation in multinational exercises.

"Zelensky, committed to the Minsk Agreements, has filed a bill to violate them." Miroshnik said.
The draft law violates Article 10 of the Minsk Agreements that requires "withdrawal of all foreign armed formations, military equipment, as well as mercenaries from
the territory of Ukraine under monitoring of the OSCE. Disarmament of all illegal groups".

"I want to draw attention to the fact that the Minsk-2 demands withdrawal, not admission of foreign forces. In means, no foreign armed formations or mercenaries in Ukraine. Either for exercises, or for parades. This is a norm that Ukraine signed in 2015, and Zelensky confirmed in 2019 in Paris," Miroshnik said.

The Ukrainian government launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against Donbass in April 2014. Conflict settlement relies on the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, signed on February 12, 2015 in the Belarussian capital by the Contact Group members and coordinated by the Normandy Four heads of states (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine). The document provides for ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons from the contact line. *t