MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States supports the Normandy process on the Ukrainian reconciliation and expects that Russia will make an effort to implement the Minsk agreements, US Ambassador to Russia John Tefft said Tuesday.
Speaking to journalists, Tefft said that the United States thought that Russia should contribute to ending the conflict in Ukraine, with the framework for this set up by the Minsk agreements. Washington will continue supporting the Normandy format, he added.
Ukraine launched a military operation in Donbas in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize the new government in Kiev that they viewed as illegitimate. In February 2015, the warring parties to the conflict signed the Minsk peace agreements with Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine — the members of the Normandy Four — helping to negotiate the Donbas ceasefire. It has been, however, repeatedly breached, with the conflicting sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire regime.
