Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday the Minsk Agreement on the Ukrainian settlement ceased to exist when Russia recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Putin said Russia had struggled for eight years for the implementation of the accord while the Ukrainian authorities had stalled them.
"Now the Minsk agreements do not exist. Why should we implement them if we recognize the independence of these entities?" he questioned.
He insisted that the recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk's independence from Ukraine was "dictated by the unwillingness of Kyiv to implement the Minsk Agreement."
"By the efforts of the current Kyiv authorities, everything was reduced to zero. The Minsk agreements were killed long before yesterday's recognition of the people's republics of Donbas. And not by us, not by representatives of these republics, but by the current Kyiv authorities," he maintained.
The European Union was reluctant as well, unable to make Ukraine take necessary steps, so, there was no choice other than to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk, he said.
Putin confirmed that Russia will provide Donetsk and Luhansk military assistance, provided by the terms of the agreements, signed on Monday and ratified Tuesday by the Russian parliament.
He added that by this move Russia "makes it clear that, if necessary, it intends to fulfill its obligations."
When the Russian troops will go to Donbas will depend on the developments on the ground, he said.
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