Russia Calls UN Security Council Meeting Over Minsk Violations

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia has initiated an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the shortcomings in the implementation of the Minsk agreements on reconciliation in Ukraine, the Russian Permanent Mission to UN said Thursday.

"The UN Security Council is holding a closed doors meeting, initiated by Russia, to discuss violations of commitments to implement the Package of Measures agreed in Minsk on February 12," the mission's spokesman Alexei Zaitsev said.

The agreements brokered by the leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine in Minsk, Belarus in February stipulate a ceasefire, effective since February 15 in Ukraine's eastern regions, heavy weaponry pullout from the line of contact, an all-for-all prisoner swap and the withdrawal of all foreign troops and mercenaries from Ukraine.

However, the United States, Great Britain, and Poland have announced they would send instructors to Ukraine to train military personnel, as well as providing other forms of support for the Ukraine Armed Forces. The Kremlin reacted by saying that sending instructors is unhelpful in easing tensions in eastern Ukraine.

Another provision of the Minsk peace plan was to grant the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) broader autonomy.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a law, which stipulates that the DPR and the LPR will be eligible for special administrative status if elections are held in line with Ukrainian laws.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the Kiev's decisions regarding special status for Donbas constitute a gross violation of the peace agreements reached in Minsk.