Zelensky's year allotted for ending war in Donbas, based on Minsk Agreements, expires on Dec 9 – Reznikov
Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov believes that the one year period for ending the war in Donbas, which was voiced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, should be understood as the time allotted for implementing the scenario that was outlined in the Minsk Agreements.
"I render the words of the president a little differently. He [Zelensky] said that he gives himself a year to follow the scenario that was written in 2014, meaning the Minsk Agreements. In fact, it was said in Paris on December 9 [at the meeting of the leaders of the Normandy Four states on December 9, 2019]. Therefore, this year will expire on December 9, and the president will make a decision," he said on the air the Hard with Vlaschenko program on the Ukraine 24 television channel on Monday.
Reznikov said that the war in Donbas will not be ended in 2020, because it takes a lot of time for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
As reported, in March 2020, in an interview with the British "The Guardian," President of Ukraine Zelensky expressed the hope that he could agree with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Donbas, but does not rule out that he could withdraw from the negotiations if there is no progress in them during years after the December summit in the Normandy format.