The Ukrainian government has called on Russia to fulfill the terms of the Geneva agreements of April 17.
“The government is appealing to the other party to the Geneva
agreements – the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian side is calling for
the fulfillment of the Russian part of the agreements. We are urging
[them] to withdraw [their] troops from Ukrainian territory and
emphasizing the importance of public disassociation from supporting
terrorism and separatism. We are appealing to Russia to urge its
supporters who commit illegal actions on Ukrainian territory to stop
violence and release hostages and occupied buildings,” reads a statement
released on the Web site of the Cabinet of Ministers.
According to the statement, the Ukrainian government is ready to
listen to all legitimate political demands of Ukrainians in the east and
west of the country and to meet them halfway.
“And we are calling for the fulfillment of the Geneva agreements
reached by Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union,”
reads the statement.
The cabinet claimed credit for suspending the active phase of a
counterterrorist operation in the eastern part of the country and
insisted that protecting people from illegal armed groups is the main
job of the Ukrainian authorities.
“The Ukrainian law enforcement and security agencies will work in
this very format,” it said. As for the armed forces, their only job is
to defend the citizens of Ukraine, it said.
In listing measures that the Kyiv authorities have taken toward
implementing the Geneva accords, the government said it has approved a
bill on pardoning participants in riots who give up their weapons and
vacate the administrative buildings they seized and submitted this bill
to the Verkhovna Rada. In keeping with the Geneva accords, this amnesty
will not apply only to those who committed grave crimes.
The cabinet said it has initiated a constitutional reform aimed at
decentralization and granting more powers to the regions. The
parliamentary constitutional commission has held a broad-format meeting
involving representatives of all political forces and regions, and a
decision has been made on launching public debates on the future
constitutional amendments proposed.
“But even before constitutional amendments are introduced, we are
ready to hear from residents of regions who they consider worthy of
heading these regions,” it said.
The Interior Ministry and the Security Service are continuing to
seize unlawful weapons from civilians and disarm radical movements,
organizations and sectors that are breaking the law, the government
said. Nearly 6,000 firearms have been seized.
“The atmosphere on Independence Square and on Khreschatyk [Street in
Kyiv] is free and safe, nobody is being persecuted on ethnic and
language grounds, and nobody is compiling any blacklists.”
The government said it guarantees protection of the Russian language
and its special status. Territorial communities will decide on the
volume of rights to be granted to Russian or any other language.
“The Ukrainian government strongly condemns any manifestations of
anti-Semitism, xenophobia, or intolerance. The Security Service is
investigating the circulation of anti-Semitic leaflets in Donetsk,” it
said.
