Statement by the YABLOKO party ,08.09.2014

A phantasm of a hope of establishing peace in Eastern Ukraine has appeared recently. The Minsk agreement on the steps on realization of peace plan including obligations for cease-fire aims at it. We emphasize that the participants of the three party contact team don’t dispute the territorial integrity of Ukraine as the self-proclaimed republics are not mentioned in the protocol as independent subjects of international politics.

It’s vital that the OSCE should provide observation and verification of the non-use of weapons regime. We emphasize that Zakharchenko and Plotnitsky’s stances had changed radically the day before the Minsk agreement was signed which gives evidence that their activity is actually controlled by the Russian authorities.

Though these measures are not enough. Peace won’t be achieved until Russia officially confesses that it is the party of conflict.

Russia should conduct direct negotiations at the official level, not only the contact group.

Russia’s militants and weapons should be drown out of Ukraine’s territory. The Armed Forces of Russia and Ukraine should be withdrawn from the common border under OSCE control.

Russia’s militants who are involved in the conflict should be returned to Russia immediately.

We demand to investigate the facts of participation of Russia’s militants in military operations at the territory of another country and bring the recruiters to responsibility.

We demand to publish the lists of those who died. They should be buried publicly with military honors. The officials who ordered to conduct secret funerals should be brought to criminal responsibility as well. The moves towards lightening of the conflict make premises for conduction of an international peace conference with the participation of Ukraine, representatives of the Eastern rebellions, Russia, the EU and the USA.

The temporary truce won’t grow into stable and long-term peace without the above listed measures.

The demands for the consistent actions on the peaceful solution of the conflict will be supported by YABLOKO at Peace March which will take place on September 21 in Moscow.

Sergei Mitrokhin,
YABLOKO Chairman