“Unfortunately, the situation is seriously complicated by the openly destructive line of the NATO states, which are trying to draw Ukraine into their orbit, to turn it, in the president’s words, into ‘anti-Russia’. The supply of lethal weapons to Kiev is expanding, and provocative manoeuvres involving the United States on land, in the air and at sea near our borders are multiplying. At the same time, they are trying to dictate to us how the Russian Armed Forces should behave on our own territory,” Lavrov said, speaking at the Federation Council.
A Normandy format of negotiations involving Russia, France, Germany, and Ukraine was set up in June 2014 to settle the conflict in southeastern Ukraine. The Minsk Agreements, adopted by the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine in February 2015, set out a framework for the political resolution of the conflict.
