On Tuesday, November 19, in Moscow, Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin met with members of the Good Russian People club and with famous journalists, bloggers and publicists.
The first quite expected question was the one regarding the upcoming meeting of the leaders of the Minsk agreements’ guarantor countries in the Normandy Format.
“It is too early to draw any conclusions. We can see the way Ukraine’s acting with its leaders’ rhetoric changing every day. It is exactly due to their inconstancy that it is pointless to make predictions.
Of course, we hope that the meeting will take place and it will be possible to get Ukraine to precise and constructive solutions and actions for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Time will tell what the reality will be like,” Denis Pushilin said.
Answering a question set by one of the guests present about the identity of Donbass residents, the Head of the Republic, without hesitation, said: “We are Russians!.. And for this do we suffer.”
During the meeting, Denis Pushilin also answered many other questions.
– Denis Vladimirovich, on December 9, apparently, a Normandy Four meeting will be held. What are the DPR’s, Donbass’s expectations from it?
– I will say on my own behalf: we do not expect any breakthroughs. I personally participated in the negotiation process in Minsk for a very long time and I know how heavy this process is. There are no positions that would immediately suit both sides. It doesn’t work that way. In the Normandy Format there are more opinions and positions are not simple, therefore, we don’t expect any breakthrough, any over-achievement or instantaneous resolution. The Normandy Format meeting shouldn’t be overestimated: unfortunately, the conflict is not over for Donbass.
– Tell us about the results of the year that has passed and plans for the future.
– The year has gone fast. I can say that a year ago I thought that I would have managed to do more during this time. Many problems have opened from a new perspective. And there simply cannot come a split-second decision.
In addition to the external ones as blockade, non-recognition and others, there are also internal processes. There will be no unified agreement, no common understanding… The most difficult thing is, of course, the development of the economy. Any issue comes down to the economy…
Taken in the framework of nation, we now need any investments. We are in want of people willing to invest, develop, create employment, pay taxes and work under the law.
– What are the results of the Donetsk Investment Forum organized to promote the economic development of the Donetsk People’s Republic?
– Indeed, we hosted a very important economic forum. And now there is taking place a process of transition to the practical implementation of what has been pledged. There are key points for us, in particular, investments attraction and the introduction of Islamic banking. We had the opportunity to discuss it just yesterday, when there took place a certain continuation of the panel hosted in Donetsk.
Ecology comes down to the economy anyway. Scholars of the Russian Academy of Sciences thoroughly spoke about this and, most importantly, suggested solutions.
Why is Islamic banking of interest to us? It is so because this is a certain alternative to obtaining credit funds, and there is no loan interest in this system. There are others and, in the opinion of many, fairer conditions. And what is probably even more important for us is the possibility of cross-border transfers and the movement of funds. Considering our non-recognition, we are not doing well with this. So this issue has been discussed and is still at table.
A working group had been formed to implement the projects considered at the investment forum, and it has already begun its work.
– What are the chances the conflict escalates into active hostilities?
– We are dealing with Ukraine, so we should be ready at each point for any development of events. The matter overlaps with the geopolitical situation. If any trends and tendencies emerge, naturally, this may affect us.
– Is the introduction of cryptocurrencies being considered in the DPR?
– This topic was discussed at the economic forum, a plenty of attention was drawn to it. They should be used, especially in such situations. But this should be reflected in the law. People should understand that this is not illegal, safe to some extent, and a system must be elaborated.
– Is there anything in the Donbass economy that could be called a hallmark?
– It is no secret that coal is the hallmark of Donbass. We also produce mining tunnels, which are now supplied to Belarus, Kazakhstan, and other CIS countries. As for mechanical engineering, we now give preference to it, because there is a high added value.
Now on the Russian market among others there are available our refrigerators manufactured by the DonFrost company, the former Nord. They are of quite high quality and affordable. There are other enterprises, in particular chemical ones, such as the Stirol, as well as a number of other less well-known enterprises that were presented to potential investors.
– What is the demographic situation like in Donbass?
– We support having as many large families as possible. And they shouldn’t not stand out as something unusual. Ideally, we would like a family with one or two children to be seen as something unusual. Then the situation will reflect the traditions of our ancestors, their aspirations, when there were really big families. And now we need to get back to this.
The birthrate is growing now, so we may delay the abolition of the curfew.
The curfew issue is always raised at all meetings. It is regularly at table. This suggests that the society is concerned about this issue. <…>
We are having an ongoing dialogue with law enforcement agencies, this issue is very often raised at meetings. In the summer, we shifted the curfew a little, for an hour, several options are being considered now. I would’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but we are preparing considerable experiments now. We want to figure out how this will affect security and other spheres. That is, the curfew is to undergo some changes in the very near future.
In terms of security, I am against its abolition. If it is about the youth, I’m all for it because they need no curfew, they need freedom for their young years to pass in complete and absolute freedom. We have no right to deprive them of it. This is my position regarding the curfew.