Ukraine - Security Council, 8970th meeting

Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said “Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics” had declared independence since 2014, but Russia only recognized them on Monday, despite a high level of support for doing so both in the regions themselves and in Russian society from the very beginning. He said Russia urged the Ukrainian Government to listen to the aspirations of the people living in Donbass and the Russian speaking residents of the country, but this was instead met with violence. He said the Ukrainian Government did everything it could to sabotage and ultimately destroy the Minsk agreements, adding that Kiev refused to speak directly with the representatives of Donetsk and Luhansk. Nebenzia recalled that in all other conflicts the Security Council calls for direct dialogue between the parties, but Ukraine seems to be the exception to this rule. He said Russian recognition of what he called the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics does not change the makeup of the parties to the Minsk Agreements as the two