Minsk talks foiled, Kuchma blames DPR and LPR

On January 31, Minsk hosted a meeting of the tripartite contact group to resolve the situation in Donbas. It was attended by representatives of official Kiev, ex-President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, the OSCE Representative Heidi Tagliavini, Russia's Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, representatives of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR republics Denis Pushylin and Vladislav Deynega. No documents were signed.

As it became known, Kuchma said that the negotiations were disrupted, and it was done by the representatives of the militants. "Today's consultations on the Implementation Plan of the Minsk agreements containing the list of specific measures aimed at accelerating de-escalation of the situation were disrupted due to the absence of Minsk documents' signees Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitski, ultimatums of their representatives Denis Pushylin and Vladislav Deynega, as well as their refusal to discuss the Action Plan for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons," Interfax-Ukraine quoted the representative of Kiev.

It turned out that the delegates from the DPR and LPR in the form of an ultimatum demanded from Kiev unilateral ceasefire in Donbas. Leonid Kuchma said that "the Ukrainian side will not accept any ultimatums and preconditions". He recalled that the Ukrainian authorities require full implementation of the agreements reached in Minsk in September last year, "starting with the immediate establishment of a ceasefire".

Kuchma said he expects the official Moscow's reaction to the situation with the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the head of the so-called "People's Republic of Luhansk" Igor Plotnitski said it was the Kiev side that disrupted the talks in the Belarusian capital.

"If Kuchma wants to accuse me and [the head of DPR] Zakharchenko, let him first recall that he himself was not present yesterday, and for Leonid Kuchma to participate in the negotiations, he should be officially appointed an authorized representative," RIA Novosti quoted the words of Plotnitski.

As is well known, the leaders of the militants demand that the Ukrainian authorities were represented by an official person, and not the former president.

Pushylin said after the meeting in Minsk that the representatives of the "republics" are ready to continue negotiations in the form of a dialogue, not a monologue of Kiev. Deynega spoke about the testimony of the Ukrainian military prisoners, based on which the Ukrainian army is preparing an offensive in Donbas.

It was previously announced that meeting of the contact group on Friday, January 30, was possible. However, these negotiations did not take place.

Photo: ria.ru