The German government has expressed its "serious concern" over the most recent developments in eastern Ukraine. They clearly contradict both the spirit and the letter of the Minsk agreements, stressed federal government spokesperson and Federal Foreign Office spokesperson in Berlin.
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"The German government calls on all those who are currently blocking the main rail connections with the Donbas to end this action," said federal government spokesperson Steffen Seibert at the government press conference on the escalation of the stand-off between Ukrainian security forces and the so-called nationalists along the inner-Ukrainian front in the Donbas.
Actions like this not only hamper efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict, but also jeopardise electricity supplies in Ukraine. It is becoming increasingly difficult to ensure supplies, and "that cannot really be anybody’s intention". Violent actions that divide the country further are "really the least helpful thing in the current situation," reiterated Steffen Seibert.
The German government takes a "critical view" of the blockade of goods transport – in particular the transport of coal to power stations – by Ukrainian activists, added Martin Schäfer, the Federal Foreign Office spokesperson. The Ukrainian government response has not yet been sufficiently vigorous. The German government, said government spokesperson Steffen Seibert, fully understands if Ukraine now attempts to restore law and order in its own country using state resources.
The German government is also concerned about the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine to temporarily halt all goods transport to and from the area controlled by separatists. "We do not see that a decision of this sort will help de-escalate the situation – we fear the reverse is true," stressed Martin Schäfer.
As the Federal Foreign Office spokesperson added, "increasing secessionist trends" can be seen in the parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists. He gave the examples of developments over the last few weeks and what the separatists have called "external management". "This is nothing other than the de facto expropriation of Ukrainian businesses by separatist institutions in the Donbas," criticised Martin Schäfer.
He also mentioned the Russian Federation’s decision to officially recognise travel and identity documents issued in the separatist-controlled areas. This too runs counter to the Minsk agreements.
The same applies to the introduction of the Russian rouble as legal tender in the so-called "Luhansk people’s republic" and to the use of the term "border" for the military contact and demarcation line between the separatist-controlled area and the rest of the Ukraine by the self-styled "Donetsk people’s republic".
"All this further aggravates the already difficult situation in eastern Ukraine, where the ceasefire is still not being respected, and no progress is being made on the withdrawal of heavy weapons, in spite of statements to the contrary issued by Moscow and Kyiv, and where the threat of military escalation is far from being averted," warned Martin Schäfer.
These development are in clear contradiction to both the spirit and the letter of the Minsk agreements, which provide for the preservation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and for the central Ukrainian government to regain full control over the national border between Ukraine and the Russian Federation throughout the entire conflict-affected area.
Both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel have been making every effort for a long time to have the Minsk agreements implemented, stressed government spokesperson Steffen Seibert. "The focus has always been on preserving the territorial integrity of Ukraine." To date this has also always been the aim of those responsible on the Ukrainian side "and we have no indication that there has been any change in this position on the part of the Ukrainian leadership".
Under the provisions of the Minsk agreements. the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is to pass a law on the future status of the occupied territories, added the Federal Foreign Office spokesperson. Whatever is now discussed in parliament must comply with the agreement reached by the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine in Minsk in February 2015.
"The sovereignty of Ukraine is non-negotiable. That is the express premise on which the Minsk agreements are based." The German government thus calls on both sides to respect the agreements signed in February 2015, underscored Martin Schäfer.