Britain Says Russia 'Cynical' on Ukraine Ceasefire
Britain on Monday criticized Russia for failing to enforce the terms of a tattered truce in eastern Ukraine in the face of ongoing attacks by pro-Russian separatists.
"I have to say from the experience of the last 10 to 12 days, the Russian engagement in the Minsk process is rather cynical," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
"It's like an agreement on paper that has been immediately broken on the ground."
Despite the ceasefire agreed in the Belarussian capital over a week ago, rebels launched an assault on the strategic town of Debaltseve last week and pro-Russian forces have now massed near the port city of Mariupol.
Britain has a "high degree of skepticism about a Russian commitment to achieving genuine peace in Ukraine on anything but terms unilaterally dictated from the Kremlin," Hammond added.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia last week to withdraw all forces from eastern Ukraine and to end its support for the pro-Moscow separatists as the so-called Minsk II ceasefire appeared to unravel.
Source: Agence France Presse
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