Putin talks to Johnson about Kiev policy to worsen situation in Donbass – Kremlin – Russian Politics & Diplomacy

MOSCOW, December 13. / TASS /. Russian President Vladimir Putin briefed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Kiev’s policies to derail the Minsk accords, worsen the situation in Donbass and discriminate against the Russian-speaking population, the Kremlin press service said on Monday. after their phone conversation.

According to the press service, in response to Johnson’s concerns about alleged massive movements of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border, “Putin shared his principled assessment of the current situation around Ukraine.”

“He cited concrete examples of Kiev’s destructive policy aimed at derailing the Minsk accords, which are the only basis for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. He also stressed that the Ukrainian authorities are deliberately worsening the situation along the line of contact and using heavy weapons and fighting. drones in the conflict zone, which are prohibited by the package of measures. He drew attention to Ukraine’s policy of discrimination against the Russian-speaking population, ”he said.

The leaders agreed to continue discussing the topics they raised during the phone call through various channels, the Kremlin added.

It was Putin’s second phone call with Johnson in the past two months. Their previous conversation took place on October 25.

Recently, Western countries and Ukraine talked about a possible Russian aggression against Ukraine. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov called such statements hollow and baseless with the intention of stoking tensions. He stressed that Russia is not a threat to anyone but did not rule out possible provocations to justify such statements and warned that attempts to use force to settle the crisis in the southeast of Ukraine would have the most serious consequences. According to Peskov, Moscow is committed to the Norman format and to the Minsk agreements and is sparing no effort to help Kiev settle the conflict in the Donbass.