Kiev’s rejection of dialogue with Donbass blocks Minsk talks progress – DPR Foreign Ministry

Donetsk, Jun 18 – DAN. The Ukrainian authorities openly ignore the key element of the Minsk Agreements as they reject direct dialogue with the Donbass Republics, Donetsk People’s Republic Foreign Minister Natalia Nikonorova said on Tuesday.

“The Package of Measures supported by a UN Security Council resolution envisions direct talks between the parties to the conflict, the Republics and Ukraine,” Nikonorova said. “It is this key condition that Kiev is trying to avoid by all means, which explains the disappointing results of the Minsk venue talks.”

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky spoke about the readiness to observe the ceasefire at the time when the Kiev army stepped up the shelling of DPR areas. It is ample proof that the new Ukrainian authorities are “striving for peace” by making unsubstantiated statements in the media space, while actually continuing the military scenario launched by Poroshenko,” the DPR diplomat said.

She called upon the Ukrainian leadership to give up the military aggression against Donbass and “scrutinise the Package of Measures and start fulfilling their Minsk Agreements obligations which have to be fulfilled anyway.”

On Monday, Zelensky said after a meeting with the French president that Ukraine was not ready for direct dialogue with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. DPR Head Denis Pushilin expressed disappointment with the Ukrainian leader’s policy, saying that it was not possible to make headway in resolving the conflict without changing the approach and launching direct dialogue with the Donbass Republics.

At the latest Contact Group meeting in the Belarussian capital, the representatives of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics offered Ukraine to begin direct dialogue over the lifting of the economic blockade of the region.*jk

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