Newsclick Interviewed Prof. Aijaz Ahmad on the Minsk- 2 accord and the new declaration of ceasefire. Aijaz feels that the Minsk-2 accord will meet the same fate that Minsk Protocol or Minsk 1 suffered; it was not able to ensure ceasefire between the Kiev regime and the separatist forces in Donetsk and Lugansk region. He said that the accord demands complete withdrawal of heavy weapons from the region but the Kiev regime refuses to observe that even on Day 1 of the ceasefire. Almost 25% of its active troops are caught in the cauldron in Debaltseve, which was the prime reason why Hollande and Merkel sought Putin's help for this ceasefire.
Aijaz also points out double standards of Germany and France, which on one hand are a party to the accord, while on the other have imposed fresh sanctions on Russia. He believes that this entire situation will lead to a crises which could be restarting the cold war or even worse. The European powers -- Germany and France -- are unable to make up their mind whether they should try for peace in their self interest or succumb to the US pressure. The US is interested in not allowing EU and Russia to come to terms each other; it believes in containing Russia and drawing Ukraine into this eastward march of NATO to Russian borders.
