MOSCOW. March 17 (Interfax) - The chairman of the Russian State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, Alexei Pushkov, has demanded protection of the Minsk agreements from what he described as an international 'party of war'.
"The most important task is to preserve the Minsk agreements and protect these accords from the international 'party of war'," Pushkov said in the State Duma, the lower chamber of Russia's parliament, on Tuesday.
The Russian MP said he has a feeling that "the international 'party of war' is preparing to derail the Minsk agreements."
He presumed that Kyiv might be interested in further waging the conflict in the east of Ukraine rather than finding a political solution to it.
"[Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko wants to play along with the political forces in the United States who are lobbying for the start of lethal weapons supplies to Ukraine. Poroshenko also wants to play along with those in Europe who insist on further sanctions against Russia. Poroshenko wants to play along with the 'party of war' in Kyiv itself, those who appear to be ready to continue this war because war is a condition for the 'party of war' to stay in power in Ukraine," Pushkov said.
The international 'party of war' is today's reality, he said.
"A few days ago, we heard a statement made by President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite, who said that she was preparing for aggression on the part of Russia. She even went as far as saying that Lithuania would have to survive for three days until NATO's main forces arrived. When the heads of European states make such statements, my question is what are they getting ready for? May they be preparing for war instead of peace?" Pushkov said.Poland is currently considering whether or not it should send Polish troops to the east of Ukraine, he said.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has secured agreements on lethal weapons supplies to Kyiv with 11 European Union states, Pushkov said.
"In these conditions, preserving both them [the Minsk agreements] and the political forces, including those in Europe, that believe that these accords will pave the way for a peaceful political process is becoming the main task today," the Russian parliamentarian said.
Keeping the Minsk agreements in place may prove to be as difficult as signing them, he added.