Ukraine FM urges West to supply Kiev with arms
The Ukrainian foreign minister has once again urged the country’s Western allies to supply Kiev with arms, saying the violence-wracked country needs them to achieve peace.
"Our appeal for supplies of modern defense weapons to Ukraine stays in place," Pavel Klimkin told the German Bild daily on Saturday, adding, "We need them for peace, not for war.”
This is while Moscow has strongly warned the US and its allies against arming Ukraine, saying the move will only complicate the situation in the region.
Klimkin stressed the necessity of launching a peacekeeping mission in strife-torn eastern Ukraine, calling on Berlin to play a more active role to resolve Ukraine’s deadly conflict.
"I believe Germany could take on more responsibility in the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," he added.
The Ukrainian top diplomat also noted that abiding by the Minsk ceasefire agreements is the only way to end deadly clashes between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia forces in the east of the country.
East Ukraine ceasefire deals
During peace talks in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk on February 11-12, the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine agreed on the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Ukraine’s front lines and a ceasefire, which officially went into effect at 2200 GMT on February 14. The two sides, however, have continued to engage in sporadic clashes.
Back in September 2014, the representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk signed another ceasefire deal in Minsk. However, the truce was violated on an almost daily basis by both the Ukrainian military and the pro-Russia forces, and thus failed to deliver any practical result.
Source of conflict
Donetsk and Lugansk are two mainly Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine which have been hit by deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April last year to crush pro-Russia protests there.
In May 2014, the situation in the two flashpoint regions started to worsen as residents overwhelmingly voted for independence from Ukraine in referendums.
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