Escalation in Ukraine caused by Kiev actions — Kremlin

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. The deterioration of the situation in Ukraine’s south-east comes due to Kiev’s fault, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

Peskov said he could not comment on the OSCE report on events in Ukraine’s south-east on June 2-3 and say whether the situation developed that way. "I do not know," he said.

The Kremlin spokesman stressed that "certainly, there is information that proves that this was about the provocative actions of Kiev," but gave no further details. "There is the OSCE special mission [in Ukraine], and it is up to it to give information and specifics," he said.

The Kremlin is "deeply concerned" about Kiev’s continuing violations of ceasefire agreements signed in Minsk, Belarus, in February, Dmitry Peskov said.

"The most important thing for us is to facilitate in every possible way the implementation of the Minsk agreements," Peskov told journalists. "The Russian side uses every bit of leverage to influence the conflicting parties."

"We still profoundly regret and are deeply concerned about Kiev’s failure to observe provisions of the Minsk agreements," he said, noting also that "we constantly hear statements that are in direct contradiction" with the February 12 peace deal struck in the Belarusian capital by leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.

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