Germany: military parades in separatist republics violated the Minsk agreements
Germany said that military parades in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) violated the Minsk agreements and represented a threat to the population of the region, Ukrinform news agency reports.
The military parades were held in Donetsk and Luhansk on May 9. In the DPR, from 50 to 80 units of military equipment were involved while in the LPR more than 60 units of military equipment and weapons and 1,200 soldiers took part in the parade.
The German government noted that people in the "republics" are free to celebrate the end of World War II.
"However, at these parades in Luhansk and Donetsk, the OSCE Mission recorded the presence of heavy weapons, which is a violation of the Minsk agreements and a threat to the population. This is the opinion of the OSCE and also the opinion of the federal government," the representative of Germany said.
The OSCE had announced as early as two weeks before the parades in the DPR and LPR that they would violate the Minsk agreements.