Kiev authorities do not observe their obligations under Minsk agreements — Putin

MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. Kiev authorities do not observe their obligations under the Minsk agreements, for example, they have not adopted law on amnesty, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the press conference. Crisis in Ukraine should be settled by political means only, not by military means or by a blockade, Putin stressed. Russia proceeds from the assumption Ukraine will have common political space but both sides should work towards it, the Russian president added. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s aspirations are for settlement, but “he is not the only one in Ukraine,” Putin noted. Search for ways of Minsk agreements’ implementation has positive tendency, he added. Those Russians who are taking part in combat operations in the south-east of Ukraine as volunteers are not mercenaries, because they are not paid for this, Putin told the annual news conference, adding that he bore responsibility for them as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. “In Russia, just as in any other presidential republic, the president is responsible for everything, and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, for the destiny of military servicemen. In our case, it is the same person,” he recalled. “All people who feel deep down in their heart it is their calling to voluntarily participate in combat operations in the southeast of Ukraine are not mercenaries, because they do not get money for that,” he said. Read more