Moscow does not know
what the Ukrainian president means by plans B and C, Deputy Chief of Staff the
Presidential Executive Office Dmitry Kozak said.
MOSCOW, July 9.
/TASS/. If Ukraine decides to pull out of the Minsk agreements, this will be an
extraordinary event for all, however, Russia is ready for any turn of events
from a political standpoint, Deputy Chief of Staff the Russian Presidential
Executive Office Dmitry Kozak said in an interview with TASS.
"Firstly, I
would like to touch upon the goals for the upcoming year set by the Ukrainian
political leadership. It is clear that because all these goals are the object
of negotiation within the Minsk and Normandy formats, every participant of the
negotiation process must understand the end result," he explained.
"What are Ukraine’s final goals? What are the conditions and mechanisms to
implement those goals, according to our Ukrainian colleagues? I assure you that
so far, despite the talks that have lasted for over five years, no one has
complete clarity on these issues."
"We do not know
what the Ukrainian president means by plans B and C either," Kozak
continued. "There is no point in trying to guess the secret plans of
Ukrainian colleagues. Ukraine’s exit from the Minsk agreements would be an
extraordinary event for everyone. However, this will be a political event, and
not a natural or man-made disaster, where we need a detailed plan of action
drafted beforehand to eliminate the consequences. From a political standpoint,
we will be braced for any development."
Hope for constructive
dialogue
Cautious hope for a
constructive dialogue with Kiev on resolving the conflict in Donbass is rapidly
fading, Dmitry Kozak told TASS.
"Until very
recently, up to early March, we had cautious hope for an open and constructive
dialogue on issues related to resolving the conflict. However, the hope is
rapidly fading," he pointed out.
According to Kozak,
Moscow can understand that Kiev authorities have difficulties in making
decisions given the domestic political situation. "We can see that their
political opponents strongly oppose all efforts to take constructive steps to
implement the Minsk agreements. Opposition particularly comes from their predecessors
who participated in the development of the agreements," Kozak noted.
The March 11 meeting
of the Contact Group on resolving the situation in eastern Ukraine became an
important watershed, he went on to say. The meeting, which involved the
self-proclaimed Donbass republics, Russia and the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), reached an agreement on ways to move the
negotiation process forward. "The next day, the meeting’s participants had
to face strong pressure. Protests bordering on mass civil unrest made Ukrainian
envoys drastically change their position," the Russian official stressed.
"This is why, as for prospects for resolving the issue through political
means, I can only say that today, everything depends on Ukraine, the primary
beneficiary of efforts to resolve the issue," Kozak emphasized.
At the same time, he
said that it was a matter of survival for the residents of Donbass and the
entire Ukraine. "If [Ukrainian] President Zelensky’s team maintains a
sustained, direct and honest dialogue with Donbass, the conflict may be
resolved in quite a short time. However, if they stick to the position they
have been demonstrating in recent months, holding talks only to protract the
negotiation process, then it will lead to a years-long frozen conflict,"
Kozak concluded.
Efforts to resolve
the Donbass conflict are based on the Minsk agreements, which particularly
require Ukraine to carry out a constitutional reform, enshrining the
self-governing status of Donbass in the basic law. The special status law that
Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) passed a while ago has in fact been
suspended in the wake of amendments running counter to the Minsk accords. The
law, initially supposed to remain in effect for only a year, has been repeatedly
extended.
Gap between Ukraine
and Donbass
Inconclusive talks
between Ukraine and the self-proclaimed Donbass republics only widen the gap
between Kiev and the residents of the republics, Dmitry Kozak opined.
"Time waits for
no man. The conflict has been going on for six years. Inconclusive and useless
lengthy talks only widen the gap between Donbass residents and the Ukrainian
government," he said. "It is clear that it will be harder and harder
to bridge this gap in the future."
"Lately, namely
at the latest Berlin meeting, we have been calling on our colleagues to take on
an open stance: if you don’t find it necessary to adhere to certain
obligations, or you are unable to do that, just state it directly. Don’t
mislead the entire world talking about your unwavering support of the Minsk
agreements or, for example, of 'a comprehensive, full and permanent
ceasefire'," Kozak said.
Mass protests broke
out in eastern Ukraine, mostly populated by Russian-speaking citizens,
following a coup d’etat in Ukraine in February 2014 and President Viktor
Yanukovich’s ouster. In mid-April of the same year, Kiev’s authorities launched
a military operation in Donbass in response. Heavy shelling of residential
areas, including the use of aviation, caused large-scale humanitarian disaster
in the region. According to the UN, more than 13,000 people have been killed in
the armed conflict and over 30,000 have been injured.
Simultaneously, Kiev
introduced a full blockade of the region, severing all economic ties. The
Ukrainian authorities stopped paying social benefits to the citizens of the
territories not under their control.
Source: ITAR-TASS
09-07-2020
