Russia wants the US to put pressure on Ukraine to ensure that the Minsk agreements on resolving the military situation in Donbas are implemented, Russian Ambassador to US Anatoly Antonov told the Newsweek magazine.

"The only way to stability in the Donbas region is the implementation of the Minsk agreements. We call on the US to exert pressure on Kiev to fulfill its obligations under the document," Antonov said.

"We want Washington to send a clear signal to Ukraine about the inadmissibility of revising the Minsk accords, which are the uncontested basis for resolving the situation. The US has the resources to stimulate [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky to implement the Minsk agreements, which were approved by the UNSC Resolution 2202 and are legally binding," the Ambassador added.

Border crisis

The migratory issue on the Belarusian-Polish border is caused by Western ambitions to impose a democratic vision across the globe, not by Minsk's policies, Russian Ambassador to US Anatoly Antonov told the Newsweek magazine.

"The deeper cause of the situation are attempts of the Western countries, including the US, to impose their vision of democracy around the world," Anotonov said.

"Such an activity of the United States and its partners over the past decades led to a series of regional conflicts. As a result, we saw a dramatic deterioration of the security situation in the Middle East and Northern Africa, economic decline, and massive migration flows. Unfortunately, the West has not fulfilled its promises to rebuild the states that suffered from wars and to bring people's lives back to normal. That is why Belarus has become a transition point for the refugees. It happened not by the fault of Minsk," the Ambassador noted.

Strategic partnership 

The current situation in the world is urging Russia and China to strengthen their strategic partnership, but the countries are not pursuing any geopolitical goals, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said.

"There is no doubt that the current situation in the world fosters further strengthening of the strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing. But unlike the US and its NATO allies we have no geopolitical plans and aims against any sovereign country," Antonov told the Newsweek magazine.

According to the Ambassador, the Russian foreign policy is aimed at "creating a stable and sustainable system of international relations based on international law and principles of equality, mutual respect, and non-interference in internal affairs of states."