With regard to the two "republics" of the eastern Ukrainian region, the Russian government demanded that the Ukrainian government abide by the Minsk Agreement and make them the object of formal negotiations and recognize their legitimacy to a certain extent

With regard to the two "republics" in the eastern Ukrainian region, the Russian government demanded that the Ukrainian government abide by the Minsk Agreement as a formal negotiator and recognize its legitimacy to a certain extent.

The Ukrainian government headed by Zelenskiy is only willing to abide by the provisions of the Minsk Agreement that are favorable to Ukraine and to amend those that are unfavorable to Ukraine; the two "republics" in eastern Ukraine are illegal, they are rebels, and the Ukrainian government will not recognize their legitimacy, nor will it hold any negotiations with them, but if so, it will talk to the Russian government.