Putin, Trump Convinced Ukraine Crisis Cannot Be Protracted

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US President Donald Trump agrees with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Ukrainian crisis resolution efforts should be accelerated to prevent the conflict from becoming protracted, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

"The US is also a staunch supporter of the view that the Ukrainian crisis must not be allowed to turn into a chronic crisis. We need to intensify efforts to resolve the issue," Peskov told reporters.

The Donbass conflict erupted in April 2014 as a local counter-reaction to the West-sponsored Maidan coup in Kiev that had toppled legitimate President Viktor Yanukovych in February. Residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions held independence referendums and proclaimed the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Kiev has since been conducting a military operation, encountering stiff local resistance.

In February 2015, Kiev forces and Donbass independence supporters signed a peace agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbass, as well as constitutional reforms that would give a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Despite the agreement, the ceasefire regime is regularly violated, with both sides accusing each other of multiple breaches, undermining the terms of the accord.