Ukraine Conflict : What is the Minsk Agreement?

INTRODUCTION

 

Today, I will talk about the Minsk Agreement. The Minsk Agreement is a set of Agreements that have received a lot of media attention of late due to the ongoing conflict that is going on in the State of Ukraine and the Region of Donbas.

 

BACKGROUND

 

It is important to understand that the Minsk Agreements were and are one of the major bones of contention that may have possibly triggered the current Ukrainian Crisis. These agreements relate to the armed conflict that has been going on in the Donbas Region that lies on the border of Russia and Ukraine since the year 2014. The two political actors that seem to dominate the Donbas Region are the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR). Though this conflict has a deep history, yet for the sake of brevity, it could be said that the main reason for fighting in the Donbas Region is the demand of autonomy by these actors from the State of Ukraine. It is also pertinent to note that the DPR and the LPR have a large ethnic Russian population and have pro-Russian sentiments.

 

PARTIES TO THE MINSK AGREEMENT

 

Due to such incessant armed conflict, the Minsk Agreements were entered into and signed by the representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR). After extensive consultations and deliberations, two sets of Minsk Agreements have emerged. The first set (Minsk I) was signed on 05.09.2014 and it made an attempt to stop the fighting. However, since the fighting did not stop, another set (Minsk II) was signed on 12.02.2015.

 

CRUX OF THE MINSK AGREEMENTS

 

The crux of the Minsk Agreements is as follows: -

 

a. Ensuring end of use of armed weapons by forces of Donbas as well as Ukraine.

b. Provide for interim local self-governments in the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions.

c. Conduct elections in Donetsk and Luhansk Regions after proper political consultations.

d. Ensure permanent monitoring of Ukraine-Russia Border.

e. Immediate release of all hostages.

f. Continuance of dialogue and negotiations between the parties.

g. Remove unlawful militants and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine. And

h. Economic revival of Donbas Region.

 

AFTERMATH

 

However, despite signing of these agreements by the concerned parties, the mandate of these agreements has not been implemented. None of the sides involved have shown good faith in implementing these agreements, and only blame game has transpired so far. The result is the ongoing Ukrainian conflict that we are witnessing now.

 

Thus, I hope that the background and the crux of the Minsk Agreements is clear by now. I will try to provide more details relating to the background of the ongoing Ukrainian conflict in the future posts.

Important Link: UN Document involving the Minsk Agreement