Russia's UN Envoy Says 'Too Early For Flowers' To Zelenskiy

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th April, 2019) Russia believes it is too early to "send flowers" to Ukrainian President-elect Volodymyr Zelenskiy because of contradictory signals he sends and will await his actions to resolve the crisis in Ukraine's Donbas region, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council meeting.

"Well, it is too early for flowers, the signals that we are getting form President-elect Zelenskiy at this point are contradictory," Nebenzia said on Thursday. "We are sincerely interested in making sure that he undertakes real steps to settle the situation... We will see how he implements the declared intention to change the situation in Donbas."

The Ukrainian presidential runoff was held on Sunday and resulted in a landslide victory for Zelenskiy, who received 73.22 percent of the vote. Kiev did not organize polling places in those parts of the Donbas region that are not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, namely the self-proclaimed republics.

Nebenzia added that the solution to the crisis in Eastern Ukraine could not be found in Russia, and it lies with Kiev and its Western partners that allow Ukraine to sabotage the Minsk agreements.

Kiev launched a military operation against the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics in 2014 after they proclaimed independence from Ukraine, refusing to recognize the new central government that.

A ceasefire deal between warring parties was signed in Minsk in 2015 following talks brokered by the leaders of the so-called Normandy group - Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine. Despite this agreement, however, sporadic fighting continues in Donbas. To date, the situation remains tense, with both sides accusing each other of violating the truce.