Kurt Volker: People in the Temporarily Occupied Territories Are in a Terrible Situation

People in the temporarily occupied territories, whom Russia allegedly protects from "oppression" and "lawlessness", are in a terrible socio-economic situation and are forced to risk their lives every day due to the military aggression provoked by Russia, Kurt Volker, US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations (2017-2019) stressed during Kyiv Security Forum online discussion organized in partnership with Chatham House.

"This is a real tragedy for these people. Hundreds killed, hundreds of thousands internally displaced. This situation cannot simply be perceived as part of our reality," he said.

Volker stressed that "under no circumstances should such a dramatic situation be allowed to normalize.”

In his opinion, no matter how imperfect the Minsk agreements are, they are the only legal instrument that provides two important goals.

"First, this document sets out Russia's commitment to upholding Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is not really the case, but the signature binds these commitments," he said.

"Second is to unite the support of international community around Ukraine. Sanctions against Russia are applied because it does not fulfill the terms of the Minsk agreements. This course must be followed," Kurt Volker added.

He also stressed that the leaders of Germany and France must recognize that Russia is violating the terms of the agreement.

"Ukraine is under pressure, there are attempts to manipulate and use the principle of "tooth for tooth" in Russian-Ukrainian relations. In fact, Russia is violating most of the provisions of these agreements, and Ukraine has done everything in its power to fulfill its obligations: amnesty laws, special status, prisoner exchange procedures, and so on. And Russia must eventually begin to comply with the terms of the Minsk agreements." he said.

Kyiv Security Forum is Ukraine’s foremost platform for high-level international discussion about peace and security. Kyiv Security Forum was founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation in 2007.