ERR in Moscow: Russians skeptical on Minsk agreement as US was not present
People in Moscow have welcomed the new Minsk agreement under which a ceasefire will go into effect in Ukraine, but many fear it will not lead to lasting peace. Their reason: the United States, held by Russians to be behind the war, did not attend the talks, ERR's Neeme Raud reported from Moscow.
“I am skeptical on many of the agreed upon points, as I did not see one serious participant at the talks – namely the United States. We remember when during the coup d'etat in Ukraine many very well known European leaders and diplomats signed very serious documents promising many guarantees, which were all thrown out after the coup was complete,” Georgy Fedorov, head of the Aspect Center of Social and Political Studies, told Raud.
“The agreement should have been signed with the United States, who is held to be the main agitator, ideologist and producer of the Ukraine conflict. But despite that there is optimism that the bloody war, which is going on under the eyes of the world, will end,” said Alexander Brod, the director of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights.
“We welcome the process which takes place behind tables and we find that only talks – especially if they take place on the initiative of European Union representatives, who understand their previous mistakes – can solve the conflict in a peaceful manner, behind a negotiation table, and certainly involving representatives of Novorossiya,” said Igor Borissov, a human rights adviser to the Russian president.
Raud said many experts said the lack of United States at the Minsk talks mean the new agreements will not end the war. Some even said the talks went on throughout the night in Belarus because this was during office hours in the United States.
Editor: J.M. Laats