Sources: Germany, France ask Zelensky to comply with Russia’s spin of Minsk Agreements$1:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz, who traveled to Kyiv on Feb. 14, tried to talk Zelensky into granting Russian-occupied regions autonomy, which is one of the key demands made by the Kremlin.
On Feb. 15, Russia’s parliament voted to ask Putin to recognize Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine’s Donbas as independent states. If Putin signs the bill, this will effectively cancel the Minsk Agreements, which, according to Ukrainian officials, isn’t what Russia desires.
The day before, Scholz said that Zelensky agreed to present a plan to introduce “special status” for occupied Donbas. Zelensky didn’t comment publicly on the issue.
During his visit to Moscow on Feb. 15, Scholtz called recognizing the independence of Russian-occupied regions a “political catastrophe.”
No. Absolutely not. Putin cannot be allowed to keep Eastern Ukraine and Crimea.