Minsk deal implementation requires talks with Kyiv's friends, Moscow – Poltorak

The Minsk process is crucial to Kyiv, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said, adding that the dialogue with Moscow was also important.

"Minsk is crucial to Ukraine, as it enabled the Armed Forces to gain strength amid the existence of a very serious threat: Russian troops were standing practically in every sector, every part of our border," Poltorak said during the Livy Bereh program aired by Channel 24.

"We need to resolve the problem with the Russian Federation. This problem cannot have a solely military solution," the minister said.

There has to be a dialogue with both 'Ukraine's friends' and Russia in order to reformat the Minsk agreements," he said.

"We should negotiate not with the DPR and the LPR but with friends, France and Germany, as well as with Russia. No one is going to sign anything; what has already been signed should be fulfilled," Poltorak said.

In his opinion, Russia is the only party failing to comply with the Minsk terms. "Unfortunately, the main party to the Minsk agreements who fails to fulfill them is the Russian Federation. Everything depends on its will. Russia was complying with certain provisions of the agreements when that was beneficial for it. It stopped doing so when it became non-beneficial. Yet, the implementation of those agreements depends on Russia, because we are complying with them," Poltorak said.

The minister said that the sanctions against Russia must not be cancelled. "Considering the ongoing policy of Russia, those sanctions cannot be lifted. All of us should be saying that," he said.

"Everything that happened to Georgia in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and to Moldova in Transdniestria was the exact same scenario. Russia managed to do so because there were no sanctions back then," Poltorak said.