During the visit to Berlin, the Ukrainian delegates again filled the media with statements that are not only extremely inflammatory, but also eloquently demonstrate they totally misunderstand the essence of the Donbass peace talks and do not seek to participate in them in good faith.
“Ukrainian Foreign Minister Mr. Kuleba openly tells representatives of Germany, which is one of the guarantor countries to the Minsk Agreements, about the “key position” of Ukraine refusing to negotiate with representatives of the republics directly. At the same time, head of the Ukrainian presidential office Mr. Yermak also cites the instructions from the Normandy Four’s summit, that Ukraine allegedly is fulfilling all the items mentioned in the final communiqué. However, such statements are fundamentally contradict the reality: after all, both the agreements following the meeting the guarantor countries’ leaders held in December last year and the Complex of Measures, and all other documents of the Minsk package clearly state that the parties to the conflict are Kiev and Donbass, which means that the main dialogue on the settlement of all issues without exception related to peace reestablishment must happen between them directly.
Moreover, Mr. Yermak claims that the residents of the Republic are allegedly terrorists, which means that Kiev will be talking with some migrants, whom the Ukrainian authorities choose themselves. However, Mr. Yermak did not explain how those people would represent the interests of the people of Donbass, who stayed on the other side of the line of contact with Kiev, and who continue to suffer from the aggression of the Kiev authorities.
Moreover, no international organization has ever recognized the Republics as a terrorist organization. Secondly, it is not Kiev but the republics, whom their residents once gave their credibility, shall decide who represents them at the main diplomatic venue in Minsk. Any other proposals from Ukraine are nonsense and the road to nowhere.
There are also many doubts about the statements by the Ukrainian diplomats claiming that during the visit they dedicated “99 percent of the time” to security in Donbass. Although everybody knows that the conflict cannot be ended without resolving all political issues first and the problems that gave rise to this conflict.
With regard to security, it is high time that the Ukrainian authorities stopped talking and started taking meaningful action to reduce escalation and bring peace closer. First of all, it is high time that additional ceasefire control measures were approved, as well as new disengagement areas, at the Minsk venue. But instead, representatives of Ukraine are sabotaging meaningful discussions within the Contact Group and are wasting time creating the illusion of their involvement in peace talks.
Once again, we call on the guarantor countries to assess the events in Donbas objectively and comprehensively, taking into account the real state of affairs, rather than stories from Kiev that run counter to the reality. And the reality is that Ukraine is not only making every effort to get away from its obligations under the Minsk Agreements, but also continues to commit crimes against the people of Donbass: they shell our territory, cut off water and electricity, infringe on our rights and freedoms and at the same time do not try to make any real step towards peace,” the chief of the DPR foreign-policy establishment stressed.