US say “blatant” violation of Minsk agreements comes about

Official Washington expressed concern over intensified fighting and rebels’ military buildup in eastern Ukraine, occupied by rebels.

This statement by Bernadette Meehan, spokesperson for White House’s National Security Council, was published on Sunday, “Ukrinform” reports.

“We are very concerned by intensified fighting in eastern Ukraine, as well as numerous reports, (including the ones from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission) that Russian-backed and supplied separatists are moving large convoys of heavy weapons and tanks to the front lines of the conflict,” is stressed in the document.

“We continue to call on all sides to strictly adhere to the ceasefire,” she continued. “Any attempt by separatist forces to seize additional territory in eastern Ukraine would be a blatant violation of the Minsk agreements,” the representative of Washington noted.

“We reiterate our call on the Russian Federation to honor all of the commitments it made in Minsk, including ending its military supply to the separatists and the withdrawal of all of its troops and weapons from Ukraine,” stated the US National Security Council spokeswoman.

Besides, she added that Russia must enable the restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty along the Ukrainian side of the international border, to be monitored by the OSCE, and facilitate the release of all hostages.

“We continue to stress that adherence to the framework agreed upon in Minsk is the best chance of achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine,” the White House’s National Security Council’s representative noted.