Speaking via video link at the G20 summit in Bali, Ukraine’s president on Tuesday ruled out a third “Minsk deal”, a reference to two failed ceasefire deals between Kiev and Moscow over the status of the eastern Donbass region. “We will not allow Russia to wait, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilization. There will be no Minsk 3, which Russia will violate immediately after the agreement,” Zelensky said. Asked on Tuesday whether the statement confirmed that Kyiv is unwilling to negotiate with Russia, Peskov told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency: “Absolutely.” Peace talks between the two sides have been few and far between in recent months, after early attempts at a cease-fire in Istanbul collapsed in the first weeks of the war. Germany and France brokered the first Minsk agreements – signed in 2014 and 2015 – for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine amid a war between Russia-backed separatists and Kiev. Both sides accused each other of violating the agreement. (Reporting by Reuters Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
